Ancient 2,000 years old monument in Afghanistan collapsed due to weather and war

News24xx.com - An ancient tower about 2,000 years old in Ghazni, Afghanistan, collapsed earlier this week, raising fears of the continuity of historical heritages in Afghanistan and the country's ability to protect them. The old city in Ghazni initially had 36 towers, but 14 of them had collapsed due to weather, war and omission.

Ghazni is one of many historical sites in Afghanistan, which originated from the Buddhist era before Islam entered the country. Ghazni himself last year had almost fallen into the hands of the Taliban in a fierce battle that took ton of lives. According to local residents, the tower collapsed on Tuesday, June 11th 2019 after heavy rains occured on the area. But according to them, the government's negligence contributed to the destruction of ancient towers in Ghazni.

"The government is not paying their attention to this site and didn’t even build a canal to divert water due to flooding in there" said Ghulam Sakhi, who lives near the fort. "We have warned the government about the terrible condition of the fort but no one came to take care of it."

Mahbubullah Rahmani, managing director of Ghazni's culture and information, said heavy rains and recent war had caused the tower to collapse. But he said the government was working on a plan to protect the site from total destruction.

According to him, an archaeologist from Germany had worked at the site in 2013. Ghazni had a strategic position because it was between Kabul and southern Afghanistan, and only a two-hour drive from the capital city. The city holds various cultural and archaeological artifacts, some of which date from the pre-Islamic period.

News24xx.com/fik/red