Does Buddha Sleep Here?

By Tim McGirk

When the Taliban dynamited two 1,700-year-old Buddha statues carved into a sandstone cliff in Afghanistan, it destroyed prized symbols of the country's rich pre-Islamic heritage and enraged scholars and archaeologists worldwide. But it might not have finished the job. A third Buddha--the so-called sleeping Buddha--may yet exist in Bamiyan, buried just feet from where the other Buddhas once stood. A 7th century Chinese traveler left notes describing the sculpture as measuring up to 650 ft. in length and reclining in a state of Nirvana. (The taller of the two upright Buddhas was just 180 ft.) The statue is believed to be entombed, either buried intentionally before the first Islamic invaders arrived in the 9th century or covered by debris from an earthquake or the natural erosion of nearby cliffs. Archaeologists are debating whether to dig for the Buddha in an area covered by land mines. Some argue it is an important cultural relic that should be unearthed, but others fear that more Taliban-like fanatics could smash this Buddha as they did the others in March 2001. Scholars and donor countries working through the United Nations are discussing the broader goal of repairing Afghanistan's war-shattered culture, including rebuilding one of Bamiyan's destroyed Buddhas, which could cost up to $50 million. Excavating the reclining Buddha would cost a fraction of that. In the meantime, says Afghan archaeologist Zafar Paiman, "There's a cultural void."

--By Tim McGirk