page_title: National Museum of Afghanistan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: National Museum of Afghanistan / History
caption_attribution_description: Interior of Kabul Museum
context_page_description: The National Museum of Afghanistan, also known as the Kabul Museum, is a two-story building located 9 km southwest of the center of Kabul in Afghanistan. As of 2014, the museum is under major expansion according to international standards, with a larger size adjoining garden for visitors to relax and walk around. The museum was once considered to be one of the world's finest.
  The museum's collection had earlier been one of the most important in Central Asia, with over 100,000 items dating back several millennia, including items from Persian, Buddhist and Islamic dynasties. With the start of the civil war in 1992, the museum was looted numerous times and destroyed by rockets, resulting in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 objects on display. Since 2007, a number of international organizations have helped to recover over 8,000 artifacts, the most recent being a limestone sculpture from Germany. Approximately 843 artifacts were returned by the United Kingdom in 2012, including the famous 1st Century Begram ivories.
context_section_description: The Afghan National Museum was opened in 1919 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan. The collection was originally inside the Bagh-e Bala Palace, but was moved in 1922 and began as a 'Cabinet of Curiosities'. It was moved to its present location in 1931. Historian Nancy Dupree co-authored A Guide to the Kabul Museum in 1964. In 1973, a Danish architect was hired to design a new building for the museum, but the plans were never carried out. In 1989, the Bactrian Gold had been moved to an underground vault at the Central Bank of Afghanistan. 
  After the collapse of President Najibullah's government and the start of a brutal civil war in the early 1990s, the museum was looted numerous times resulting in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 objects on display. A rocket attack in May 1993 buried ancient potteries under debris. In March 1994, the museum, which had been used as a military base, was struck by rocket fire and largely destroyed. The Ministry of Information and Culture of President Rabbani's government ordered that the 71 museum staff begin moving the inventory to Kabul Hotel (now Serena Hotel) in order to rescue them from further rocketing and shelling. In September 1996, staff at the museum completed the cataloging of the remaining materials. In February and March 2001, the Taliban destroyed countless pieces of art. It was reported in November 2001 that the Taliban had destroyed at least 2,750 ancient works of art during the year.
  Between 2003 and 2006, about $350,000 was spent to refurbish the building. Many of the most precious objects had been sealed in metal boxes and removed for safety and were recovered and inventoried in 2004. Some archeological objects were found in vaults in Kabul, while a collection was also discovered in Switzerland. Since 2007, UNESCO and Interpol have helped to recover over 8,000 artefacts, the most recent being a limestone sculpture from Germany and 843 artefacts returned by the British Museum in July 2012, including the famous 1st Century Begram Ivories.
  In 2012, an architecture firm from Spain won a competition for the new design of the Afghan National Museum. Work began in 2013 to expand the museum according to international standards, with a large adjoining garden for visitors to relax and walk around.
caption: Inside the museum in 2008
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