The Archaeological Sites of Bamiyan Valley—Conditions and Possible Interventions from a Conservative Perspective

The following paper contains a detailed condition assessment of the main Bamiyan Valley’s archaeological sites that have been visited from February 19th to 22nd, 2023, on behalf of UNESCO and of the Japan Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan. The survey involved all the main archaeological sites of the Bamiyan Valley: the main cliff with the giant Buddhas and many caves, the Kakrak and Folladi Valleys, Shahr-e Gholghola and Shahr-e Zohak. The purpose was to assess their current condition and to define priorities for immediate response actions, to prevent vandalic actions, the collapse of archaeological structures and further deterioration of the wall paintings. For each site, a detailed photographic documentation of the current condition was completed, and the main conservation issues have been identified. The information about each site is displayed in dedicated paragraphs, included in this document.