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The Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan

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The Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan THE GIANT BUDDHAS OF BAMIYAN SAFEGUARDING THE REMAINS 2 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON MONUMENTS AND SITES CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL DES MONUMENTS ET DES SITES CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE MONUMENTOS Y SITIOS МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ СОВЕТ ПО ВОПРОСАМ ПАМЯТНИКОВ И ДОСТОПРИМЕЧАТЕЛЬНЫХ МЕСТ THE GIANT BUDDHAS OF BAMIYAN SAFEGUARDING THE REMAINS edited by Michael Petzet in cooperation with RWTH Aachen (Michael Jansen) and TU München (Erwin Emmerling) with contributions from Catharina Blänsdorf, Ilaria Bonaduce, Maria Perla Colombini, Ulrich J. Dahlhaus, Erwin Emmerling, Edwin Fecker, H. Albert Gilg, Pieter M. Grootes, Jan-Eric Grunwald, Michael Jansen, Christian Manhart, Claudio Margottini, Edmund Melzl, Sekander Ozad-Seradj, Michael Petzet, Stephanie Pfeffer, Bert Praxenthaler, Pierre Smars, Laura Thiemann, Georgios Toubekis, Florian Unold, Michael Urbat, Fritz Wenzel, Yazhou Zou and others MONUMENTS AND SITES MONUMENTS ET SITES MONUMENTOS Y SITIOS XIX Monuments and Sites / Monuments et Sites / Monumentos y Sitios edited by ICOMOS Offi ce: International Secretariat of ICOMOS, 49-51 rue de la Fédération, F-75015 Paris Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media upon a Decision of the German Bundestag Front Cover: The feet of the Western Buddha seen from above [Photo: B. Praxenthaler 2009] Back Cover: The cliff with the niche of the Eastern Buddha, [Photo: E. Emmerling 2009] Inside Front Cover: Niche of the Western Buddha, [Photo: Y. Zou 2002] Inside Back Cover: Niche of the Eastern Buddha with scaffolding, [Photo: E. Emmerling 2008] Editorial Staff: Catharina Blänsdorf, Nora Eibisch, Melanie Eibl, Erwin Emmerling, Cristina Thieme, John Ziesemer Picture Credits ICOMOS would like to thank all authors for generously providing illustrations to this publication. Most photos were taken by members of the ICOMOS teams working in Bamiyan since 2002 (Jörg Fassbinder: p. 49; Edwin Fecker: pp. 103–105, 108, 110–115 top, 116 top, 145, 148–150, 152, 153, 171–173; Edmund Melzl: pp. 25–27, 84, 85; Michael Petzet: pp. 39, 42, 43, 65, 66, 75, 76, 88 bottom, 159 top, 161, 195; Bert Praxenthaler: pp. 67–72, 77–80, 86–88 top, 126–129, 138–144, 159 bottom, 163–169; Georgios Toubekis: pp. 117–121; Michael Urbat: pp. 57 left, 89–93, 96, 98–102, 130–133; Yazhou Zou: pp. 48, 50, 52–54), including the results of the cooperation with RWTH Aachen/Prof. Michael Jansen (pp. 44, 45, 51, 55, 57 right, 122, 123, 146, 151, 154–158; A. Fahim and Mario Santana: pp. 56, 58, 59; Pierre Smars and Ulrich J. Dahlhaus: pp. 60–63; Irmengard Mayer/TU Wien: pp. 115 bottom, 116 bottom), and the results of the cooperation with TU München/Prof. Erwin Emmerling (contributions by TUM: pp. 196–280, with illustrations by Catharina Blänsdorf, Edmund Melzl, and other authors). The illustrations on pp. 175–193 were kindly provided by Claudio Margottini. Further photo credits can be found in the captions. ISBN: 978-3-930388-55-4 © 2009 ICOMOS – published by hendrik Bäßler verlag · berlin CONTENTS Greeting by Dr. S.M. Raheen, Minister of Information and Culture . 9 Greeting by Habiba Sarabi, Governor of Bamiyan. 11 Preface (Michael Petzet) . .13 I THE GIANT BUDDHA STATUES IN BAMIYAN . .17 Catharina Blaensdorf, Michael Petzet Description, History and State of Conservation before the Destruction in 2001. .17 II AFGHANISTAN – HERITAGE AT RISK . .36 Christian Manhart The Destruction of the Buddha Statues in March 2001 and the First UNESCO Activities. .37 III ICOMOS ACTIVITIES 2002–2009 . .41 Report 2002 . .41 Michael Petzet The fi rst ICOMOS mission to Kabul and Bamiyan (12–21 July 2002) . .43 Michael Petzet Anastylosis or Reconstruction – Considerations on a Conservation Concept for the Remains of the Buddhas of Bamiyan (2002) . .46 Yazhou Zou, Florian Unold First Considerations on the Stability of the Buddha Niches and their Stone Material . .52 Recommendations of the First Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site, Munich, 21–22 November 2002 . .54 Report 2003 . .55 Pierre Smars, Ulrich J. Dahlhaus Mission to Bamiyan, October to December 2003 . .60 Recommendations of the Second UNESCO/ICOMOS Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site, Munich, 18–20 December 2003. .64 Report 2004 . .65 Bert Praxenthaler Report on Salvaging Rock Fragments, 2004 . .66 Recommendations of the Third Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site, Tokyo, 18–20 December 2004. .74 Report 2005 . .75 Bert Praxenthaler Report on Salvaging Rock Fragments, 2005 . .77 Fritz Wenzel Options for an Anastylosis of the Buddha Statues in Bamiyan, 2005 . .81 Recommendations of the Fourth Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site, Kabul, 7–10 December 2005 . .82 Report 2006 . .84 Bert Praxenthaler Report on Salvaging Rock Fragments, 2006 . .86 Michael Urbat, Jens Aubel A Combined Geological and Paleomagnetic Approach towards the Repositioning of Fragments from the Buddha Statues, 2006 . .89 Edwin Fecker Report on Rock Mechanical Aspects Concerning the Eastern Buddha Niche, 2006 . 103 Georgios Toubekis 3D Laser Scanning and Post-Processing of the Niche of the Eastern Buddha, 2006 . 117 Michael Jansen Presentation of the Cultural Master Plan Bamiyan (Kabul, 31 July / Bamiyan, 2 August 2006) . 123 Recommendations of the Fifth Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site, Aachen, 14–16 December 2006 . 125 Report 2007 . 126 Bert Praxenthaler Report on Salvaging Rock Fragments, 2007 . 127 Michael Urbat Combined Geological and Paleomagnetic Analyses of the Back Plane of the Eastern Buddha Niche, 2007. 130 Report 2008 . 134 Recommendations of the Sixth Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley, NRICPT, Tokyo, 20–21 January 2008. 134 Recommendations of the Seventh Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley, Munich, 12–13 June 2008 . 135 Bert Praxenthaler Report on Safeguarding the Remains of the Buddha Statues, 2008 . 137 Edwin Fecker Report on Preservation Measures in the Eastern Buddha Niche, 2008 . 145 Report 2009 . 159 Erwin Emmerling Conservation Concept for the Relief of the Eastern Giant Buddha and the Back Wall . 160 Michael Petzet Six Additional Tasks for 2009/2010. 160 Bert Praxenthaler Report on Safeguarding the Remains of the Buddha Statues, 2009 . 163 Edwin Fecker Report on Stabilisation Measures in the Eastern Buddha Niche, 2009 . 170 Claudio Margottini IV THE CONSOLIDATION AND STABILIZATION OF THE BUDDHA NICHES AND THE CLIFF IN BAMIYAN (2003/04; 2006) . 175 V THE MUNICH RESEARCH PROJECT ON FRAGMENTS OF THE GIANT BUDDHAS OF BAMIYAN (2007-2009) . 197 Introduction (Catharina Blaensdorf) . 197 Catharina Blänsdorf, Edmund Melzl Technique of Modelling the Buddha Statues . 201 Catharina Blänsdorf, Stephanie Pfeffer, Edmund Melzl Identifi cation of Wood Species . 215 Stephanie Pfeffer, Catharina Blänsdorf Materials Made of Plant Fibres: Ropes and Textile Fragment. 217 H. Albert Gilg, Catharina Blänsdorf, Eva Höfl e, Laura Thiemann Mineralogical Investigations on Loam Plaster Fragments of the Destroyed Buddha Statues at Bāmiyān, Afghanistan . 219 Stephanie Pfeffer, Catharina Blänsdorf Organic Additives of the Clay Layers: Plant Materials . 227 Jan-Eric Grunwald Organic Additives of the Clay Layers: Hair Identifi cation . 229 Catharina Blänsdorf, Marie-Josée Nadeau, Pieter. M. Grootes, C. Matthias Hüls, Stephanie Pfeffer, Laura Thiemann Dating of the Buddha Statues – AMS 14C Dating of Organic Materials . 231 Catharina Blänsdorf, Stephanie Pfeffer, Edmund Melzl The Polychromy of the Giant Buddha Statues in Bāmiyān . 237 Ilaria Bonaduce, Marcello Cito, Maria Perla Colombini, Anna Lluveras The Characterisation of the Organic Binders . 265 Niche of the Western Buddha, view from above Photo: 19 June 2007 Photo: 13 October 2004 Photo: 7 September 2005 Photo: 25 October 2008 Photo: 3 July 2006 Photo: 7 July 2009 8 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of Information and Culture The magnifi cent symbols of Ghandara art, the Great Statues of Buddha in Bamiyan, are not only symbols of pride for Afghans but indeed they belong to all humanity. Unfortunately, these great heritage monuments were destroyed by enemies of our great history and rich culture. With commendable support since 2002 from our international partners including ICOMOS, UNESCO, Japan and Germany, effective efforts were made to study and research the possibility of the restoration and reconstruction of the statues. This publication provides details of all the efforts made including the research actvities, scientifi c studies and recommendations of the Expert Group Meetings initiated by ICOMOS and UNESCO. I keenly look forward to this publication opening new chapters and helping us all in fi nding scientifi c ways towards the restoration of these great sites. I thank Michael Petzet, President of ICOMOS, for his commendable efforts in safeguarding the remains of the Bamiyan Buddhas and wish him further success. Dr. S.M. Raheen Minister of Information and Culture Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 9 10 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Independent Directorate of Local Governance Bamyan Province It’s a matter of pleasure that ICOMOS is publishing its volume XIX of the ICOMOS publication series “Monuments and Sites”: Report on Safeguarding the Bamiyan Buddha Statues. At this juncture, fi rstly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the great work that ICOMOS has been doing from 2002 till now in safeguarding
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