Buddha statue discovered in lake (video)

CCTV; CNN; SOE; Rebecca Shapiro, The Huffington Post; CC Liu (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Chinese locals spotted the head of the 12-foot statue poking out of the lake. What is it?

600-year-old Buddha statue discovered in China as reservoir water level drops

Magao cave Buddhist temples, China (GB)

Archeologists believe that an ancient Buddha statue discovered by villagers in China’s Jiangxi Province is about 600 years old, dating back to the Ming Dynasty, state news agency Xinhua reported last week.
 

The top of the statue was spotted last month when villagers noticed a Buddha’s head sticking out of the Hongmen Reservoir. According to Xinhua, water levels in the reservoir had fallen due to a recent construction project, revealing a sculpture.
 

Buddhism in ancient Greek art (answers.com)

After an underwater expedition, researchers confirmed that the statue was about 12 feet long and carved into the cliffside. They also found the base of a hall beneath the statue and a 30-character inscription, which archeologists believe indicate that a temple had previously been there.
 

The reservoir was built in 1958 on the ruins of the ancient Xiaoshi Township, according to county records obtained by Xinhua. The Buddha statue was erected at the intersection of two rivers.
 

Xu Changqing, director of the Research Institute of Archaeology of Jiangxi province, told CNN that the statue may have been protected by being underwater for so many years... More