A quarter century ago, Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. They found that the artifacts of Kabul museum - 5000 years of Afghan history - had vanished.

For a very long time, people expected the objects to show up on the global black market of art objects. But nothing ever come up. Eventually, the Russians left. The Taliban came to power. They too destroyed or looted what they could lay their hands on. But whatever left the vaults of Kabul museum in the year of 1979 could not be found.

And now the artifacts have been coming back.

About 8 government museum employees made a pact in '79. They stored these objects in small boxes and hid them away in various locations. They promised each others not to open the boxes until and unless all of them were present. The pact held through 25 years of bloody history of Afghanistan. And now the artifacts are coming back - boxes of 2000 year old Bactrian gold jewelry and ornaments, boxes of coins depicting Afghan royalty dating back to 500 BC, ivory plaques from 2000 year old Kushan culture .....

The archaeologist Fredrik T. Hiebert has been taking inventory for the Afghan government. All told, there are 20,400 objects. Less than 100 are still missing. Guy Gugliotta filed the story for Washington Post last month.

If you like cheer up stories, here is another one of how Iraqi engineers revived the marshes that Saddam had drained off to kill the way of life for Marsh Arabs.