Found a thousand year old Buddha statue

In the ruins of Buddhist monasteries in Afghanistan, archaeologists discovered a stone statue believed to be a statue of Prince Tat Dat Da before he founded Buddhism.

According to Live Science, the statue found in 2010 was mentioned by many scientists, including Gérard Fussman, a professor at the Collège de France in Paris. About 28cm tall and carved in stone, the statue depicts a prince along with a monk. Based on a copper coin found nearby, Fussman estimated this statue to be at least 1,600 years old.

Buddha statues found in Afghanistan are believed to be descriptive
Prince Siddhartha before becoming a Buddha. (Photo: Live Science)

Prince Siddhartha was described as sitting on a round chair, eyes looking down, his right knee on his left knee. He wears dhoti (traditional men's clothing in India), wraps a tubar scarf, a necklace on his neck and sits under a multi-tree canopy. The monk stood on the right side of the prince, his right hand held a lotus flower or palm branch (right now the monk's right hand was broken so this detail was not confirmed).

Based on a number of descriptive characteristics, especially multi-foliage, Fussman believed that the prince carved on the stone was the Tomb of Tat Dat Da, who later became a Buddha. This statue depicts Prince Tat Dat Da when he has not yet begun his fateful journey of enlightenment.

Fussman also said that the discovery of the statue shows that there may be an ancient monastery dedicated to Siddhartha before enlightenment. This idea was first mentioned by Professor Gregory Schopen in 2005.

Schopen found evidence for this when studying the introductory versions at Tibetan monasteries. Scientists are still conducting excavations to save precious artifacts before the area is disturbed by copper mines.