'Alexander's Column' near Kabul, 1879 (c)

Photograph, 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1879 (c).

As the British advanced into Afghanistan they came across many ancient ruins and monuments, evidence of the country's rich and varied heritage. They photographed, painted, sketched, classified and recorded these sites, doing much to increase our understanding. Their work was part of the imperial scheme. The development of archaeology, linguistics, anthropology and the birth of the museum were all based on an impulse to collect, classify and control information about diverse cultures. It was no coincidence that many of the pioneers in the ancient history of the subcontinent, its religions and languages were often the very same soldiers and civil servants who conquered, surveyed and administered India and its associated regions.

The British were especially intrigued to be following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great who marched through Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan in the 320s BCE. Despite local legend suggesting that Alexander raised the column, it was most likely a Buddhist monument built by the Kushan, rulers of the region in the 1st and 2nd century AD.

From album of 46 photographs. Associated with Sir F S Roberts, Commissariat Department.