Minaret Jam, one of Afghanistan’s greatest architectural treasures, in danger of collapsing after floods and neglect
A remote 800-year-old minaret which is one
of Afghanistan's greatest archaeological treasures is in danger of falling down
because of flood damage.
The Minaret of Jam stands taller than
Nelson's Column and is on a list of United Nations world heritage sites, but is
now in an “alarmingly precarious” condition, a survey has found.
Archaeologists fear the condition of the
213ft (65m) tower will worsen over the winter as moisture and ice get into the
brickwork and add to the damage.
A local Taliban official earlier this month
warned that the three-storey tower was in danger of collapse if action was not
taken.
The loss of the minaret in Ghor province
would be a “devastating, devastating tragedy”, said Rory Stewart, a former
secretary of state for overseas development.
Mr Stewart, who walked past the minaret
while trekking through the country in 2002 soon after the Taliban were ousted,
said the tower was one of the most important monuments in Central Asia.
He said: “You come down this tiny, narrow
deserted gorge, having crossed a 14,000 foot pass and suddenly you find this
thing exploding in the middle of this valley.
“It's the most beautiful, haunting,
extraordinary tribute to this lost civilisation. It would be one of the great,
great most devastating cultural losses that we could experience for the last 50
or 60 years to lose something like that.”
The brick-built late 12th century minaret
sits in a hard-to-reach valley at the confluence of the Hari Rud and Jam Rud
rivers. Its three cylindrical levels rise from an octagonal base, and the whole
tower is covered in elaborate decoration interspersed with text from the Quran.
Historians believe it sits at the site of
Firozkoh, or Turquoise Mountain, a city which was destroyed by a son of
Ghenghis Khan and the minaret is thought to be the only remains of the
settlement.
Archaeologists have for years warned that
the minaret is in poor condition, but a recent survey by the Aga Khan
Development Network said flooding in 2019 had shifted debris to the base of the
tower.
“With the onset of winter, the damp bricks
and wet mortar at the base of the monument will be exposed to the frost cycle
resulting in further damage to the masonry structure of the unstable and
leaning minaret,” the network said.
ذ “Depending on the depth of the penetration of frost
into the masonry structure, it can be reasonably expected that both the bricks
and the mortar will decay extensively causing further reduction in the
load-bearing capacity of the 65-metre-high monument.”
Sediment deposited by the floods has also
raised the level of the riverbed, meaning subsequent floodwaters will be
brought closer to the base of the monument.
“This will result in a larger section of the
unstable minaret being submersed under floodwater risking the complete collapse
of the monument,” the review found.
The local Taliban governor earlier this
month also said he was alarmed about the condition of the tower.
“It does not belong to Ghor alone. It
belongs to the entire world,” Mawlawi Ahmad Shah Din Dost told state
television. He said he had inspected the minaret and signs of damage were
clearly visible.
“The minaret may collapse if the Information
and Culture [Ministry] of the Islamic Emirate or international charity
organisations fail to pay attention," he said.
