Afghan mine clearers rescue artifacts

On a rocky hillside in central Afghanistan, men in visored helmets and protective blue smocks gently scratch the earth for land mines _ or shards of pottery from the sixth century.

Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. But this valley presents a challenge to deminers because of its history, from Silk Road traders to Buddhists who carved towering statues destroyed by the Taliban.

So deminers here double as amateur archaeologists, protecting the dirt as well as the people who will walk on it. Rather than exploding mines in the ground, the deminers ease them out gently with a strap around the explosive. And they spend as much time excavating bits of pottery or rusted jewelry as mines.

On the hilltop sits a sixth-century citadel called Shahr-i-Ghulghula that archaeologists say shows the transition from Buddhist to Islamic cultures in Central Asia. It's one of eight area spots named World Heritage sites by the U.N.'s cultural and education arm, UNESCO. All are in a "fragile state of conservation," UNESCO says, from abandonment, military action and dynamite explosions.

Usually a deminer can clear about two square meters a day, but here it is slower because artifacts set off metal detectors. A glimpse of a pottery shard can stop work outright while archaeologists are called over. About 100,000 square meters must be cleared by the end of October.

The precision of mine work is good preparation for extracting artifacts, says Sorna Khakzad, a conservationist with UNESCO.

"They are more careful than archaeologists sometimes," Khakzad says.

Many of the sunburned, bearded deminers are proud that they are making their country safer, but say the work at Shahr-i-Ghulghula is equally necessary.

"This place is like gold. This place is a treasure for our country," says Ghulam Dastagir Hairan, 45.

Hairan recently found a bracelet lodged in the dirt of Shahr-i-Ghulgula. He says it was a "great moment to be working." The Islamic-style etching on the bronze bracelet suggests it is from sometime around the 10th century.

Ironically, the mines protected the sites from looters, Khakzad says. Once the mines are cleared, protection falls to the Afghan government. UNESCO will provide advice and money for guards, Khakzad says. But with war still waging, it's unclear how high a priority the fragile sites will be.