By Duncan Hewitt in Shanghai
Archaeologists in China say they have unearthed a miniature
gold box believed to contain the hair of the Buddha.
The box, thought to have been buried for more than a
thousand years, was dug up during the excavations of a famous
ruined pagoda in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
The excavation has attracted much media interest in China.
But some experts say it should never have been carried out.
Media frenzy
China's Communist-controlled media have been in a frenzy of
excitement over the discovery of the apparent Buddhist relic.
A tooth believed to belong to the Buddha went
on display across Asia
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Journalists waited for days
outside the local museum in Hangzhou for experts to open the
heavy iron case which contained it.
The case was found in a cellar under the ruins of the famous
Leifeng Pagoda, which was built in 976 AD but collapsed after
repeated attacks by relic thieves in 1924.
China's official news agency said the case contained a
35cm-high gilded silver pagoda, carved with scenes from the
story of the Buddha Sakyamuni.
Buddha's hair
Visible inside the pagoda is a tiny gold box, which experts
say is believed to contain the hair of the Buddha - but the
Shanghai Daily newspaper quoted experts as saying the box would
not be opened for fear of damaging it.
Buddhist relics are among Asia's great
archaeological treasures
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The former head of the local
cultural relics protection bureau was quoted in another
newspaper, the Guangzhou Daily, as saying he had opposed the
excavation in the first place.
He said he feared that the relics could not be properly
protected.
Reports said this is thought to be the second piece of the
Buddha's hair found in China - a similar relic was discovered in
the north of the country in the 1970s.
Pieces of the Buddha's hair are also believed to be contained
in temples in Burma, Cambodia and Thailand.
And a relic revered as a tooth of the Buddha, normally kept
in a Beijing temple, attracted huge crowds when it was put on
display in Hong Kong in May 1999.
Archaeologists have yet to uncover any trace however of the
Lady White, a mythical figure who according to Chinese legend is
entombed under the Leifeng pagoda.
