3,000 Buddha statues discovered in China (with link to photos)

A recent discovery of nearly 3,000 Buddha statues was unearthed during a dig in Handan, China, the largest archaeological discovery of its kind since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. Archaeologists believe the statues are approximately 1500 years old, dating back to the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. Made of white marble and limestone, most of the statues found on the dig are broken and in disrepair. Researchers are still puzzling over how so many statues ended up here, though a working theory is that they “may have been rounded up and buried after the fall of the Northern Qi dynasty by later emperors in an attempt to purge the country of Buddhism.” To view photographs of some of what has been unearthed, visit here.