Afghan mine clearers rescue artifacts

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — 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... [read full story]                    

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