Dear list members,

Our last seminar for this semester will be at 6:00-7:30pm on Thursday June 8 in the Rogers Room (N397) of the John Woolley Building, University of Sydney.

Please note that in the seminar program emailed to members in March, this seminar was originally scheduled for June 1; however, it has been re-scheduled and will now be held on June 8.

We hope you can attend.

Kind regards,
AABS Executive


Remains of Buddhism in Afghanistan: an overview and an update on more recent archaeological projects

The presence of Buddhism in Afghanistan is well-documented from the accounts of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims from the seventh century onwards; however, the archaeology of Afghanistan has long been perilous and problematic. After major discoveries by French, German, British and Japanese teams in the early to mid-twentieth century, conflict, war and political upheaval shut down exploration for many decades. Apart from the issues of systematic looting during times of civil conflict, open cast mining beneath the Mes Aynak hill in the dangerous Logar Province in the last decade has prompted a concerted international effort to rescue and preserve a little-known regional Buddhist hill site. This illustrated talk will focus on the Mes Aynak discoveries after a presentation of the more general context of Buddhist traces in Afghanistan.

Royce Wiles currently lectures in Buddhist Studies at Nan Tien Institute in Wollongong. His academic interests include Buddhist and Jain texts and textual traditions, as well as Buddhist doctrine and practice (including meditation techniques). Royce spent nine years working with a research agency in Kabul and will talk about work with the National Museum of Afghanistan and more general issues about Buddhist archaeology in Afghanistan.
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