One Buddha may remain

last updated 8 January 2015

Bamiyan, Afghanistan

French archaeologists said this week that they plan to begin searching for the legendary “Sleeping Buddha,” a giant statue believed to be buried between the two Buddhas the Taliban destroyed last year. A Chinese pilgrim who traveled to Bamiyan in the seventh century described the third Buddha in his journal as a 900-foot reclining figure positioned between the standing Buddhas’ feet. And local villagers say they have always been taught that a third Buddha lies underground, covered by dust and dirt from earthquakes over the centuries. But Afghan archaeologists told the Chicago Tribune that uncovering the statue could put it at risk. “When there is no opportunity for another fundamentalist regime to destroy it,” said Abdul Wasey Ferozi of the Institute of Archaeology, “only then will we allow excavation.”