RASC News Agency: Local sources in Afghanistan’s Baghlan province report that groups affiliated with the Taliban have been conducting secretive excavations at the ancient Barata Hill, located near the Deh Salah district of Andarab. The operation, reportedly carried out around the clock, involves at least twenty local laborers working under the direct supervision of Taliban members.
Residents say that Taliban authorities are presenting the activity as part of a supposed “mining project”, yet widespread belief among locals is that the true objective is the illegal recovery and smuggling of archaeological artifacts and buried treasures from the site.
Barata Hill is one of northern Afghanistan’s least explored archaeological zones, previously identified by Afghanistani archaeologists as a site linked to the Bactrian and Kushan civilizations, which flourished over two millennia ago. Scholars have described the region as an important junction along the ancient Silk Road, rich in historical and cultural layers yet to be unearthed.
Local residents now fear that these artifacts remnants of Afghanistan’s millennia-old heritage are being destroyed or sold on the black market.
“They are digging day and night, pretending to search for minerals,”
said one resident of Deh Salah, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“But everyone knows they are after gold and antiquities. Once gone, these relics will never return.”
Cultural experts warn that the unauthorized excavations could inflict irreversible damage on the site, erasing vital traces of ancient Afghanistani history.
Over recent nights, residents of Andarab and the nearby Gadali Qasan area have reported the sound of rocket fire and intermittent gunshots around Barata Hill. While the clashes have been confirmed by local witnesses, no group has claimed responsibility.
Following the incident, Taliban forces reportedly conducted house-to-house searches, detaining several civilians without explanation.
At the same time, telecommunications networks were shut down for several hours across the district a move that has heightened suspicions of covert Taliban operations and the possible transfer of looted antiquities out of the area.
Community elders and civil society activists in Andarab have appealed to UNESCO, international cultural heritage organizations, and independent media outlets to investigate and intervene before Afghanistan’s ancient history is lost forever.
“This is not just local theft it is the erasure of our collective memory,”
said a historian based in northern Afghanistan.
“The Taliban are trading the soul of our civilization for money.”
Since regaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have been repeatedly accused of pillaging archaeological sites, destroying historical relics, and trafficking cultural artifacts through regional smuggling networks. Analysts say that these activities, often disguised as “mining operations,” serve as both a source of revenue and a means of consolidating local control through fear and secrecy.
The group’s track record from the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 to recent reports of looting in Helmand, Samangan, and Ghazni has drawn condemnation from global cultural institutions, yet international monitoring remains limited due to the Taliban’s restrictions on access.
As excavations continue under the cover of darkness, residents of Andarab say they feel powerless to protect their heritage. The Barata Hill, once a silent witness to the ancient civilizations of Central Asia, now faces potential obliteration at the hands of those entrusted with the nation’s rule.
Unless swift action is taken by international heritage bodies and regional governments, experts warn, Afghanistan’s cultural landscape may soon lose another irreplaceable piece of its history buried, broken, or smuggled into the shadows of the black market.
