Afghanistan's hidden treasures at the British Museum

It's finally here! I've been waiting with eager anticipation to get to see the treasures of Afghanistan in this new exhibition at the British Museum. This amazing folding crown belonged to a nomadic group buried at Tillya Tepe in Afghanistan in the 1st century. Designed to be portable to suit the nomadic lifestyle, it's 21st century travels have brought it to the UK to become a star exhibit in the 'Afghanistan' exhibition, running until 3rd July 2011. Spanning the centuries BC to AD, the material culture exhibited describes both diverse and mingled cultures within a region that historically provided one of the meeting points of East-West travel, trade and conquest. The existence of the exhibition's collection in itself tells a story as objects were secretly stored to save them from destruction in recent histories of civil war and Taliban rule. This risky venture ensured their survival, preserving a cross-section of lives and times descriptive of Afghanistan's cultural, historical and geographical place and space. They also provide a window through which to consider wider, present-day experiences, and their expression in material cultures, of political and economic movements, cultural mixity, ways of living, and forms of belief and power.

For more details go to http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/future_exhibitions/afghanistan.aspx