Alastair Leithead reports for the BBC that there may have been a third Buddha at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, one even larger than the two destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. In fact, it might still exist, buried under river sediment.
A 7th-century traveler wrote of a third Buddha, 1,000 feet long, reclining on the valley floor in front of the two standing Buddhas. Two teams of archaeologists, one from Japan and the other from France, are racing to find it. Have they called Indiana Jones?
Leithead's report includes a video tour of the caves behind the recesses where the standing Buddhas no longer stand. In former times they were filled with wonderful paintings -- the first oil paintings known to exist, in fact. Only fragments remain. Much of the 1,300-year-old art in the caves was destroyed in the past 30 years.
All compounded things are impermanent.
See also: "Poll: Should the Buddhas Destroyed by the Taliban Be Rebuilt?"
Photo Caption: At 53 meters, this was the world's largest standing Buddha statue at the time of its destruction.
Photo Credit: UNESCO/A. Levine