CAIRO, EGYPT—According to a Live Science report, a 1,900-year-old statue has been unearthed at Berenike, an ancient port city located in Egypt near the Red Sea. The statue depicts Siddhartha Gautama, who lived some 2,550 years ago in South Asia, and eventually became known as the Buddha, or “Enlightened One.” Steven Sidebotham of the University of Delaware said that the statue is about 28 inches tall, and shows the Buddha standing and holding parts of his robes in his left hand, while a halo behind him radiates sunlight. A separate Sanskrit inscription thought to date to the third century A.D. was also found at the site. The Buddha statue may have been made locally by South Asians living in Berenike, Sidebotham added, and could indicate that a South Asian merchant community lived in the area. To read about an animal necropolis uncovered at Berenike, go to "Around the World: Egypt."
