Mir Zakah is a village in the Mirzaka District of Paktia Province in eastern Afghanistan, and on the old caravan route from Ghazni to Gandhara.Warwick Ball, "The Monuments of Afghanistan: History, Archaeology and Architecture", 2008, p. 249 Mauryan punch-marked coins have been discovered at Begram and Mir Zakah, indicating early trade or administrative presence in the region.
Two of the largest ancient coin deposits ever attested to,O.Bopearachchi "Recent discoveries of coin hoards from Central Asia and Pakistan: new numismatic evidence on the pre-Kushan history of the Silk Road", Unesco Knowledge Bank. were discovered in the village, in 1947 and 1992.D.Schlumberger "Un trésor monétaire découvert au village de Mir Zakah (Afghanistan)" Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Année 1948 Volume 92 Numéro 2 pp. 174-176 The hoards contained over half a million punch-marked coins dating from the late 5th century BC, to the 1st century AD, containing early Indian bent-bar and punch-marked coins, Greek, Graeco-Bactrian, Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Parthian, and Kushana origins coins. The hoards were plundered in later years, and seen being openly sold, in February 1994, in the Peshawar bazaar.Tim McGirk "A YEAR OF LOOTING DANGEROUSLY", The Independent, 24 March 1996 The village he controversial Alexander MedaillonSmriti Daniel, "Getting hold of the Alexander medallion", The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), September 25, 2011"Review: Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions by Frank L. Holt" Review by: Henry Paul Francfort, Arts asiatiques Année 2012 Volume 67 Numéro 1 p. 173 :"les auteurs, tous deux numismates de renom, nous font entrer dans les méandres de la controverse qui règne autour de l'authenticité d'une médaille en or ... représentant au droit un portrait d'Alexandre le Grand et au revers un éléphant." Eng.:"The authors, both renowned numismatists, lead us into the labyrinthine controversy around the authenticity of a gold medal ... representing on the obverse a portrait of Alexander the Great and on the reverse an elephant." is said to have come from the treasure looted at Mir Zakah between 1992 and 1993.
See also Destruction of art in Afghanistan # Mir Zakah Treasure
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