Archaeologist and National Geographic Fellow Fredrik Hiebert (second from right) watches as a safe—later found to contain a trove of priceless Bactrian gold objects—is forced open in April 2004. Bactria was an ancient nation that was partly in what is now Afghanistan. More than 20,000 Bactrian gold objects, secured in six safes, were found intact.

Also pictured are Afghan Minister of Culture Sayed Makhodoom Raheen (left, with hands on safe) and archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi (center, with white hair). Sarianidi originally discovered the gold hoard in northern Afghanistan in 1978. The December 2004 issue of National Geographic magazine describes the safecracking.

Read the story about the Afghanistan museum treasures.

See today's top stories from National Geographic News.

Photo gallery by Chelsea Lane-Miller