Japanese Daily's Report On Discovery Of Buddha Statues In Iran Denied

TEHRAN TIMES CITY DESK TEHRAN -- Director General of Cultural Heritage Department of Fars Province denied reports on discovery of Buddha statues in the province.

A Japanese daily *******Asahi******* in its Monday issue said 19 statues of Buddha have been unearthed in the central Iranian province.

However, the Iranian official said, "In no historical period, Iran has been under the influence of Buddha culture." Since the 1979 victory of Islamic Revolution no expert group from Japan has conducted excavation operations in Fars Province, he said adding therefore the report is unfounded.

Asahi has quoted a Japanese archaeologist as saying it was quite surprising to find out that the Buddhist culture had once found its way to this part of Asia. "Buddha statues had been traced in Afghanistan upto now, and it is the first time they are being found in Iran, he claimed.

(The offending article)

Statues in Iran challenge theories on Buddhism's spread

OSAKA -- A Japanese scholar said Monday he believes the discovery of 19 Buddha statues at an ancient site in Iran challenges current theories on the spread of Buddhism. According to one established theory, Buddhist statues were first created in Gandhara, northwestern Pakistan, in the early second century using Greek techniques from the west that later spread eastward and southward, said Takayasu Higuchi, professor emeritus at Kyoto University.

But the latest discovery, made in the Iranian state of Fars, which is about 1,700 km west of Gandhara, is quite unusual, Higuchi said.

"It may be possible to formulate a new theory on the background of how Buddhism spread," he said, suggesting the religion may have been present in Iran.

Statues with characteristics similar to the Fars statues have also been unearthed farther north, in eastern Afghanistan, and Higuchi said that this could mean Buddhism also spread west at an early stage.

The 19 statues, between 5 cm to 20 cm tall, are made of clay and plaster and look similar to the statues in Gandhara, according to Higuchi.

Some are partially burned and colored, but the faces are almost intact, he said. They also bear some of the characteristics of items found between the first and third centuries in the state of Kusana in northern India, he said.

Higuchi examined the statues in late April, when he was invited by Iranian authorities to go through various items stored at Iran's national museum of archaeology.

The Japan Times: May 14, 2002

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