The National Museum of Afghanistan is situated at the outskirts of the capital city, Kabul. The museum was originally built as part of a plan to modernise Kabul during the times of Amanullah Khan. The idea was conceived in 1919 and in 1931 the collections were moved to the present building, within the grounds of the former palace. It was intended that the museum would provide a safe haven for the treasures of the Afghanistan culture, dating back to classical times. The collection was to reflect the variety of cultures and influences which have been present in the history of Afghanistan. This outstanding collection made the museum world famous during the twentieth century. During the Soviet invasion the situation in Afghanistan became very unstable. It was therefore decided that a number of museum works would be transfered into the custodianship of the President for safekeeping. During the Civil War the museum was looted many times, and since 1992 it has resulted in the loss of 70% of the objects which were previously on display in the museum. The national and international networks and communities have helped to recover over 8,000 of these artefacts since 2007.