[Buddha-l] FW: [Indo-Eurasia] 62-feet 'sleeping Buddha' found at Bamiyan, Afghanistan

[jkirk]

 X-posted.
The French also were involved in these excavations, although they
probably weren't there when this discovery was unearthed.

Wow--maybe they are getting close to he 300m one noted by
Xuangzhan.
Joanna

________________________________

From: Indo-Eurasian_research at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Indo-Eurasian_research at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
naga_ganesan
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 12:19 PM



62-feet 'sleeping Buddha' found at Bamiyan

http://in.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idINISL34253320080908



Afghans unearth 19-metre Buddha statue, relics

KABUL (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered a 19-metre (62-
foot) Buddha statue along with scores of other historical relics
in 
central Afghanistan near the ruins of giant statues destroyed by
the 
Islamist Taliban seven years ago.

The team was searching for a giant sleeping Buddha believed to
have 
been seen by a Chinese pilgrim [Xuangzhan] centuries ago when it
came upon the 
relics in the central province of Bamiyan, an official said on 
Monday.

"In total, 89 relics such as coins, ceramics and a 19 meters
statue 
have been unearthed," Mohammad Zia Afshar, adviser in the 
information and culture ministry, told Reuters.

He said the idol, in sleeping posture, was badly damaged. The
other 
relics dated back to the Bactrian era and from Islamic and
Buddhist 
civilizations.

Lying on the old Silk Road and linking West with the East,
Bamiyan 
was once a thriving Buddhist centre where monks lived in caves.
In 
2001 the Taliban blew up two giant standing Buddha statues carved

into a cliff face saying they were offensive to Islam, despite 
appeals worldwide.

Later that year U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban 
government, and work has begun to restore the biggest of the two 
destroyed statues, once the tallest standing Buddha in the world.

The mammoth task is expected to take a decade.

The latest discovery has raised hopes of finding a 300-metre-long

Buddha statue that according to an ancient Chinese pilgrim is
lying 
in Bamiyan, Afshar said.

also see,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7604519.stm