Posted on 09/12/2007 12:28:26 PM PDT by blam
1,300-year-old SKorean Buddha unearthed intact
Tue Sep 11, 2:05 AM ET
SEOUL (AFP) - A 70-ton granite statue of Buddha, which toppled over face-down 1,300 years ago in South Korea, has been unearthed with its features intact.
The 5.6-metre (18-foot) sculpture was in May found buried in the southeastern city of Gyeongju and has been partially unearthed after months of work, news reports said Tuesday.
The nose missed a rock by only five centimetres when the statue toppled, the English-language JoongAng Daily quoted specialists as saying.
"It was a miracle that the Buddha's face was saved by only five centimetres," the Venerable Jigwan, administrative head of the Jogye Buddhist Order, told the newspaper.
So far the face, chest and shoulders have been excavated.
State archaeologists estimate that the statue collapsed shortly after its completion in the late 8th century, and that the features avoided erosion because the front was buried in soil.
"We hope to move the statue to its original position but it is not an easy task to move a 70-ton stone piece," You Hong-Jung, chief of the Cultural Heritage Administration, told the paper.
Local cultural authorities plan to turn the statue face-up by the end of the year.
The Taliban’s next target?................
Call in the Taliban Statue Restoration Society! /sarc
Call in the Taliban - they have experience excavating Buddas.
Buddah say, statue fall...
devine providence.
No movie the stone.
The picture sure cleared up the part about the bottom stone. That was close.
That would place the time of the making of statue in the 8th century A.D. (7xx A.D. ?), about 7 to 8 hundred years after the arrival of Buddhism in Korea.
I saw the headline and thought that it was talking about a Buddha, a man, preserved for 1,300 years. Now that would have impressed me!
Standing up and not so fat
Not eaten for years
It was packed tight with some righteous kimche!
|
|
|||
Gods |
Thanks Blam. Some years ago, in Britain, some conservation work was being done to one of the megalithic sites. When one of those really large dolmens was raised, the very flat remains of a 16th century dead guy were found; he'd evidently been involved in "quarrying". :') |
||
|
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
|||
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.