November, 15th-16th 2021 | Napoli

Org. A. Filigenzi , B.M. Filippini, R. Giunta, N.L. Tornesello

AFGHANISTAN CROCEVIA DI MONDI

Seminario di studi storici, archeologici e letterari

[AFGHANISTAN AT THE CROSSROADS OF WORLDS: Workshop of historical, archaeological, and literary studies]

This workshop organised by the Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies of the University of Naples “L’Orientale” with the support of ISMEO (Associazione Internazionale di Studi sul Mediterraneo e l’Oriente) mainly addressed undergraduate, graduated, and doctoral students, and was intended to highlight the vitality of studies on the history, archaeology, and literary tradition of Afghanistan.

The first day was mainly devoted to archaeology. Outstanding sites and materials dating from the prehistory to the modern era were presented by the members of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan and their collaborators. Roberto Micheli and Marco Ferrandi dealt with prehistorical sites and cave paining. Anna Filigenzi, Giulia Forgione and Cristiano Moscatelli discussed archaeological heritage and material culture from the first Millennium, focusing on Buddhist art and the connections between the tradition developed in Afghanistan and in other regions, such as Gandara and Tibet. A panel chaired by Roberta Giunta was finally devoted to recent research on the history and archaeology of medieval and modern Ghazni, with papers dealing with numismatics (Arturo Annucci), funerary landscape (Martina Massullo), epigraphy (Viola Allegranzi) and material culture (Valentina Laviola).

The seminar offered an important opportunity to make know the wealth of Afghan history and cultural heritage, to put forth the outcomes of past and ongoing research, and to draw attention on sites and materials that deserve recognition, safeguard, and further investigation.