Gutsy guard protects Kabul's gold treasures

KABUL, Afghanistan -- It has been called the greatest trove of gold ever found, so much that the tale of the Golden Hoard of Bactria -- a collection of 20,000 artifacts -- would not be out of place in an Indiana Jones film.

The 2,100-year-old treasure, stored in Kabul's presidential palace, has been the subject of fantastic rumors. Some believe that a band of Soviet troops broke into the vault to steal the treasures and replaced them with fakes in the last hours of their occupation.

Others say Osama bin Laden arranged for the massive haul of gold to be smuggled through the mountains into Pakistan, where antique dealers waited to sell it, presumably to finance his al-Qaida terrorist network.

But if the treasure is still safe in the vault, and there has been no independent confirmation of that for years, it is largely due to the efforts of one brave man: Askerzai, a quiet, stocky, 50-year-old who has endured beatings, jailing, regime change and war through three decades of guarding the vaults.

Askerzai -- who, like many Afghans, has only one name -- still works for the central bank and is one of only a few to have seen the 20,000 gold objects. "It's the best heritage of our country," he said.

The coins, medallions, plates and necklaces set with precious stones were excavated in 1978 by the Russian archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi, who found them in five royal burial sites.

Those are in northern Afghanistan, in what now is called Balkh province; when Alexander the Great conquered the country about 330 B.C., it was known as Bactria.

"It is the biggest hoard of gold ever discovered," said Jim Williams of the UNESCO office in Kabul.

Soon after Sarianidi's astonishing discovery, a guerrilla war began against the Soviet occupation, and civil war followed. The mystery surrounding the treasure began to grow.

By weight, the value of the gold, silver and jewels would be in the millions of dollars, but given their historic value, they are virtually priceless.

The day before the Russians fled Kabul in February 1989, the treasure was moved to the presidential compound on the orders of Mohammed Najibullah, the Communist president who would be executed by the Taliban.

Askerzai helped to seal the treasure in seven trunks. He guarded it along with the assets of the central bank: gold bars the "size of your arm" worth more than $100 million, which were also kept in the presidential palace.

The treasure was hidden in a vault carved out of rock and protected by steel doors that were bolted shut with seven locks.

The keys for those locks were held by seven people, most of whom are now missing or dead. One was Najibullah.