KABUL, Afghanistan, March 17 (UPI) -- Afghanistan's National Museum has reclaimed hundreds of ancient artifacts that the nation once sent out of the country for safekeeping during a civil war.
Nearly a decade after the government sent the valuable items to Switzerland for safe storage, the BBC said, the historical artifacts recently found their way back to the Kabul museum.
At a recent ceremony outside the museum, Afghan Culture Minister Abdul Karim Khurram said the publicized return of the artifacts represented the current level of security within the nation.
While the oldest item among the returned artifacts dates back 3,500 years, the crowning piece of the collection remains a glass phallus linked to Alexander the Great.
Thought to have once been touched by the famed leader, the artifact was once part of the ancient Greek city of Ai-Khanum's foundation stone.
The BBC said that the item from the historical city in northern Afghanistan has been dated back more than 2,000 years.
