Sunken treasure: ancient Buddha discovered in China

22 January 2017 - 02:00 By Andrew Unsworth
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A 600-year-old Buddha statue has been uncovered in a Chinese reservoir after being submerged for more than 50 years.

A local villager first spotted the head last month when water levels in the Hongmen reservoir in east Jiangxi province fell by more than 10m during renovation work.

Archaeologists said the statue, which is around 3.8m tall and carved into a cliff, could date back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The statue is potentially just the tip of an untapped archaeological treasure trove. A base of a temple hall was also found under the water.

Local records suggest the reservoir was located on the ruins of an ancient town called Xiaoshi.

Xu Changqing, director of the Research Institute of Archaeology of Jiangxi, told CNN that an underwater archaeology team was investigating the area.

The statue was submerged in 1960 when the reservoir was built. Xu added that the water could have preserved the statue, which features amazingly detailed carving.

Guan Zhiyong, a local official, said the statue had been built by ancient people as a spiritual protector to calm the rapid-flowing current where two rivers converge.

The re-emergence of the Buddha has brought back memories for some village elders. Huang Keping, an 82-year-old local, said he had first seen the statue in 1952.

"I remember the statue was gilded at that time," he told the Xinhua News Agency.

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