The Taliban destroyed ancient Buddha statues. That led to the discovery of an ancient archaeological site!

This cultural desecration shocked the world. There was a silver lining to the destruction though. About 50 caves were discovered behind the statues.In March 2001, in central Afghanistan, the Taliban destroyed two ancient Buddha statues dating back to between the 5th and 6th centuries A.D.

The caves were covered in ancient frescoes from between the 5th and 9th centuries B.C. The paintings were likely painted by Buddhist monks who traveled along the Silk Road. They depict Buddha and other scenes from Buddhist mythology.

Researchers were delighted by this discovery and very surprised to find that some of the paintings were oil paintings. Oil paintings were not thought to have been created until the 14th or 15th century A.D. The oil was probably made from poppy seeds or walnuts.

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