Berenike_Buddha
The Berenike Buddha is a statue of the Buddha parts of which were discovered in January 2018 and January 2022 in an archaeological excavation in the ancient harbour of Berenike, Egypt, by an American-Polish archaeological mission. The statue was discovered in the forecourt of an early Roman period temple dedicated to the Goddess Isis.[3][1]
The statue is the first statue of the Buddha to be ever found west of Afghanistan.[1] It attests to the extent of Indo-Roman relations in the early centuries of the Common Era.[1]
Based on stylistic details and the context of the excavation, it is thought that the statue was made in Alexandria around the second century CE.[1] According to Steven Sidebotham, a history professor at the University of Delaware who is co-director of the Berenike Project, the statue dates to between 90 and 140 CE.[4] It was made from a stone that was extracted south of Istanbul, and may also have been carved in Berenike itself.[5] The statue has a halo around the head of the Buddha, decorated with the rays of the sun, and has a lotus flower by his side.[1] It is 71cm tall.[5]
The excavations at Berenike also yielded other artifacts related to ancient India: an inscription in Sanskrit dated to the Roman Emperor, Philip the Arab (244 to 249 CE), as well as Satavahana coins dated to the 2nd century CE.[6]
Various fragmentary parts of Buddha statues (torsos, heads) had already been discovered at Berenike in 2019, some made of local gypsum.[7][8]