Guimet research plan 2026 2030

This research project will be carried out in close collaboration with the Provenance

Pref iguration Mission led by the Service des musées de France and will give rise ,

as it progresses , to promotional actions : scientif ic articles , study days . It will

require a major project to be carried out on the collections : digitisation , dusting ,

partial restoration , reconditioning by restorers and classif ication by an archivist

or a researcher under contract in conjunction with the Archives division of the Villa

Guimet .

Valorisation of the textual and

photographic archives of the

French Archaeological Delegation

in Afghanistan ( DAFA )

The second part of this research program on the history

of collections focuses on the study and enhancement

of the archives of the French Archaeological Delegation

in Afghanistan ( DAFA ) , an institute founded in 1922 ,

active continuously until 1982 , then between 2003 and

2021 . For nearly a century , DAFA has worked alongside

Afghan partners to research , safeguard and

disseminate the country ' s archaeological heritage .

The DAFA ' s archival collections are extremely rich

but still under - exploited , due to a lack of classif ication

and complete digitization . They document the

archaeological context of the objects in the Afghan

collection of the musée Guimet , resulting from the

sharing of archaeological discoveries made by the

DAFA . They bear witness to the evolution of excavation

techniques , prospecting and restorations used from

the 1920s to the 1980s and , more generally , to the

political history of Afghanistan in the 20th century .

Afghanistan ' s closure to f ield research makes this fund

an essential resource for the sustainability of French

research in this f ield .

The works concerned by this study are the DAFA ' s

photographic collection ( prints , negatives , slides ,

glass plates ) , as well as the paper archives of the archaeological missions

( correspondence , notebooks , drawings ) .

In partnership with the DAFA , preliminary studies will be carried out in 2025

to identify the components of the collection its structure its volume the dimensions

of the phototypes and their state of conservation and to define packaging

recommendations In a second phase it will be necessary to proceed with the

dusting reconditioning classification inventory and marking of the collection

studied then its digitization by series and indexing

To serve this ambition a large scale scientific cooperation accompanies this

project DAFA ENS ArScAn Collège de France Société Asiatique with funding

envisaged by the musée Guimet the DAFA the CNRS with ArScAn the Ministry

of Europe and Foreign Af fairs MEAE The study and promotion of this exceptional

collection could therefore provide material for a new reference exhibition

on Afghan heritage in the wake of the exhibition Afghanistan Shadows and

Legends A century of archaeological research which was held at the Musée

Guimet in 2022

Excavations at Lashkari Bazar © musée Guimet , Paris .

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