“…Considering all this information, the study presented in this paper was aimed at providing relevant data to elucidate some of the open questions about the technology and materials used in the production of the ancient Afghan sculptures. We wanted to understand if there were different layers of clay‐based pastes in the same sculpture, and their nature (coarser/smoother; Blänsdorf & Melzl, 2009; Klimburg‐Salter, 2018; Tarzi, 1986; Verardi, 1983), the composition of the material commonly known as ‘stucco’ (which is supposed to be lime or gypsum‐based; Middleton & Gill, 1996; Tarzi, 1986; Varma, 1987; Verri et al, 2019) and the addition of binding organic substances in the stucco or the clay‐based pastes (Bonaduce et al, 2009; Forgione, 2019; Lluveras‐Tenorio et al, 2022; Pannuzi et al, 2019). All of these data are of great relevance in addressing the design of conservation interventions on historic‐archaeological examples.…”