Recovered Treasures
![A plaster decoration that once hung in a Kushan kings palace dates back 2,000 years.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6cfe0ab/2147483647/strip/true/crop/350x350+0+0/resize/350x350!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F74%2F79%2F4e09286734d77b2ecac3f042f09e%2Fla-afghan2-i7ceickf.jpg)
A plaster decoration that once hung in a Kushan kings palace dates back 2,000 years. (Fredrik Hiebert / National Geographic)
![Bactrian gold](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4498585/2147483647/strip/true/crop/275x350+0+0/resize/275x350!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F12%2F7e%2Fec8e0ed78b134452478347e1428f%2Fla-afghan3-i7cee6kf.jpg)
A brooch of the goddess Aphrodite points to the influence of Greeks and other civilizations in Afghanistans history (Kenneth Garrett / National Geographic)
![Enlightened being](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8c96758/2147483647/strip/true/crop/300x350+0+0/resize/300x350!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F56%2F15%2F15cb32fa49543059f2d3915ff54f%2Fla-afghan1-i7cekwkf.jpg)
A gilded clay bodhisattva is part of the stashed treasures from Kabul Museum. (Fredrik Hiebert / National Geographic)
![Well preserved](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dfcdaee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/400x175+0+0/resize/400x175!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa1%2F51%2F542682766625c6b9e9206fb08654%2Fla-afghan4-i7cej1kf.jpg)
An ivory panel depicting palace life in Begram, the Kushan capital, is among the museum artifacts that were safely stashed away by curators. (Fredrik Hiebert / National Geographic)
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![Portrait gallery](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/01de899/2147483647/strip/true/crop/400x200+0+0/resize/400x200!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe1%2Fb5%2F65b9e780360f35130fff76b90cc9%2Fla-afghan5-i7ceg3kf.jpg)
These coins are part of the Bactrian collection, which was unearthed in northern Afghanistan in 1978. (Fredrik Hiebert / National Geographic)