Photo Opportunity: Afghanistan's Minister of Mines and Petroleum Daud Saba, standing in front of a Buddha statue and surrounded by cameras at Mes Aynak.

Daud Saba, Afghanistan's Minister of Mines and Petroleum has promised to build a new museum dedicated to Mes Aynak and it's 5,000 (and counting) years of history. This museum will purportedly be built in Logar Province (where Mes Aynak is located) on 40 hectares (98 acres) of land allocated just for this project.

Although this is a positive development for preserving the artifacts already excavated from the site, it will do nothing to save the site itself, or the irreplaceable structures, temples, and stupas that cannot be moved. 90% of the site has yet to be excavated, and this museum -- while important -- will do nothing to ensure that Mes Aynak and its thousands of years of untold history is protected.

We applaud the Afghan government for looking to preserve some of Mes Aynak's history, but we implore them to protect and save the site itself -- not just pieces from it -- for all future generations to learn from.