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Finds from Ai Khanum

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On this page, you will find several photos of objects from Ai Khanum, today in the National Archaeological Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul. The pictures were taken in 2006 during an exhibition in Paris. Above left, you can see a human face made of terracotta, excavated in the administrative palace; to the left the statue of Heracles with his club, found in the Temple with the Niches; and above a famous inscription:

These wise words of ancient men are set up,
utterances of famous men, in holy Delphi.
Clearchus copied them carefully and set them up,
shining from afar, in the sanctuary of Cineas:

As a child, be orderly,
As a youth, be self-controlled,
As an adult, be just,
As an old man, be of good counsel,
When dying, be without sorrow.

The Cineas mentioned in this text was one of the city's founders and received a sanctuary after his death (a heroön).

A Corinthian capital, which suggests to what extent the city was Greek.

A gargoyle from the "Fountain of the Oxus".

A famous plate showing the Phrygian goddess Cybele in her lion-drawn chariot, the Greek sun god Helios, and an Iranian fire altar.

An antefix, excavated in the administrative palace.

The statue of an old man, found in the gymnasium.

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