Aï Khanoum, 1968-1973

One archaeological milestone this year is the centenary of the founding of the Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan (DAFA) in 1922. Their century of research has included investigations at Aï Khanoum, a Hellenistic city on the banks of the Oxus River in northern Afghanistan. Its (later) name means ‘Lady Moon’, after an Uzbek princess said to have lived on the acropolis. It was not until the 1960s that the site’s true nature was revealed, and, like its name, royalty forms part of the story. In 1961, King Zahir Shah was on a hunting trip in the area when Aï Khanoum villagers showed him a carved stone. He informed Daniel Schlumberger, then director of DAFA, who