Ancient Buddhist statue found in Tibet carved from meteorite

by Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com, September 29, 2012

Berlin, Germany -- A recent article about an ancient Tibetan sculpture may sound like something you've seen in the movies. It involves an important archaeological find, it was once in hands of Nazis, and it holds a newly uncovered revelation. The statue, it turns out, was carved from a meteorite that crashed to the Earth 15,000 years ago.

According to the current edition of the online journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science, the "Iron Man" - as it is known - is a 10-kilogram (22-pound) statue found first in Tibet, which is likely to be Vaisravana, the Buddhist King of the North. Seated, he wears a large swastika on his midsection, considered a good-luck symbol in Buddhism that was later co-opted by the Nazis in Germany.

Experts have proved the statue, which remained in a private collection in Munich until 2007, when it is made available for study, is crafted from an incredibly rare form of nickel-rich iron present in falling stars.

Evidence includes the sculpture's telltale mineral content and structure, which give revealed it as a kind of meteorite called an ataxite. "It is rich in nickel, it is rich in cobalt. Less than 0.1% of all meteorites and less than 1% of iron meteorites are ataxites … It is the rarest type of meteorite you can find," Elmar Buchner of the Planetology Institute at Stuttgart University told the BBC.

Buchner, who has been analyzing the Buddhist statue for the last five years, believes it was carved from the Chinga meteorite that landed somewhere between Mongolia and Siberia thousands of years ago.

He also thinks it has some sort of special aura: "It is extremely impressive, it was formerly almost completely gilded – there is a great mystery represented by it," he told the online journal.

Meteorites have been considered God's messengers in several cultures since ancient times, and early knives and jewellery were often carved from fragments of space rocks. But tracing their exact origins has proved difficult for scientists, at least until now.

Read More @ Source



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scholars discuss relevance of Buddha in modern world

Image
New Delhi, Nov 27 ( IANS ) More than 900 Buddhist scholars , leaders and practitioners from 46 countries Sunday began deliberating the relevance of Gautama Buddha 's teachings, 2,600 years after his enlightenment, at a four-day Global Buddhist Congregation here. The venue at Hotel Ashok sported a riot of saffron, burgundy and ceremonial colours as monks and senior lamas from 46 countries like Nepal, Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Germany flooded the premises. In a televised message, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama , who will attend the convention Nov 30, to deliver the valedictory address, said: 'There have been many opportunities for Buddhists to come together and to discuss issues of common concerns.' 'The congregation has provided a much-needed and crucial opportunity. Now, and in the future, we need to encourage and foster an exchange of knowledge and experience among our different traditions and improve communication a
Keep reading

Buddhist temple in Westminster destroyed in early-morning fire

Image
Enduring bitter cold Monday morning, a Westminster firefighter battles a blaze at the Lao Buddhist Temple. The building was a total loss. (Steve Nehf, The Denver Post) WESTMINSTER — Brutal cold mixed with cold reality for members of the burned-out Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado on Monday as they mourned the potential loss of artifacts saved by generations of worshippers. "It's not good, it's not good at all," said an exhausted Tom Pong as dusk fell over the remnants of the temple. "There is lots of history, over 100 years of it, and it could be lost forever." Pieces charred or melted by the fire — which started just before 6 a.m. — included several Buddha figures. Worries about asbestos prevented Pong and other members of the temple from going inside to assess the damage. The temple is part of an older building that the congregation bought in the early 1980s and then expanded on a 6-acre parcel at 10685 Dover St. The older section has asbestos,
Keep reading

Danish Buddhist leader, Lama Ole, to visit in Snohomish

Image
SNOHOMISH -- An unconventional guest is coming to Snohomish County next week. Ole Nydahl, a 70-year-old Danish leader of Diamond Way Buddhism, is visiting followers here in the Pacific Northwest. Nydahl's school of thought can be described as an adaptation of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western culture, said Daria Novoselova, who will be hosting Nydahl's meeting with students in her Snohomish home. Nydahl, who is known as Lama Ole, is expected to arrive Monday. He is scheduled to give a talk at the University of Washington later that day. Novoselova, 29, felt drawn to Diamond Way Buddhism as soon as she met Nydahl. She remembers that very first lecture. She was 16 and living in Yekaterinburg, Russia, when her older brother brought her along to the lama's talk. "I immediately felt at home," she said. "I had all these ideas about the world, and, suddenly, everything came together." At the end of that lecture, she accepted a blessing
Keep reading