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Satellite imagery reveals hidden monastery at Buddhist holy site

https://www.space.com/buddha-mahabodhi-temple-satellite-imagery-buried-monastery

A buried monastery may be lurking underneath one of the sacred sites of the Buddha.

Satellite imagery revealed hidden structures in the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, according to a July media report in Indian news agency PTI, picked up by The Hindu and others. The temple is of the sites associated with the Buddha's life and said to be the location where he obtained enlightenment.

"The study has unearthed evidence of the presence of archaeological treasure beneath the soil of the [...] site and its surrounding areas," Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, additional chief secretary of India's art, culture and youth department, told PTI in The Hindu report.

Earth-gazing images obtained by satellite show "an alignment of structures to the north of the temple, buried underground," Bamhrah added. For example, the images suggest a now-buried monastery that centuries ago, was surrounded by both a moat and a settlement. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed or published, but work is ongoing.

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is today dominated by a temple soaring 180 feet (55 meters) into the sky, slightly higher than the Statue of Liberty in New York City. It forms one of six sacred sites linked with the Buddha's life and enlightenment, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

"This is one of the earliest brick Buddhist temples still standing in India, dating back to the 5th or 6th century CE," UNESCO added in a statement. "The complex is centered around a descendant of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha meditated and attained enlightenment."