National Museum of Afghanistan

The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul holds one of the most significant archaeological collections in the region, spanning the country's role as a crossroads of ancient civilisations from Greek and Buddhist to Islamic times. Long famed for the golden treasures of Bactria and the sculptures of Gandhara, the museum suffered devastating looting and destruction during years of war before painstaking recovery of surviving pieces. Its galleries trace millennia of art along routes linking India, Persia and Central Asia.