| Berenike Buddha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Anatolian marble |
| Size | 71 centimetres (28 in) |
| Created | c. 100 CE, 2nd century CE, possibly inAlexandria |
| Present location | Egypt |
| Location | |
  Location of Berenike, where the Buddha was excavated | |
TheBerenike Buddha is a statue of theBuddha, parts of which were discovered in January 2018 and January 2022 in an archaeological excavation in the ancient harbour ofBerenike, Egypt, by an American-Polish archaeological mission. The statue was discovered in the forecourt of an early Roman period temple dedicated to the GoddessIsis.[3][1]
The statue, dated toc. 100 CE, is the earliest statue of the Buddha to ever be found west ofAfghanistan (theHelgö Buddha dates later, to the 6th century).[1] This statue attests to the extent ofIndo-Roman relations in the early centuries of theCommon Era.[1]
The Buddha statue was excavated in Berenike, an Egyptian port city on the western shore of theRed Sea. Based on stylistic details and the context of the excavation, researchers thought that the statue was made inAlexandria 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 ofIstanbul, 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 inSanskrit dated to the Roman Emperor,Philip the Arab (244 to 249 CE), as well asSatavahana coins dated to the 2nd century CE.[6] They also discovered inscriptions in Greek, including one below the Sanskrit inscription, something Rodney Ast, the researcher from Heidelberg University who discovered the Buddha figure, says is “unique in Egypt.”[7]
“It’s probable that the statues were carved in Berenice and, without a doubt, the inscription too. So the place had artisans capable of making those objects and people interested in ordering them,” explains Ast, who also points out that the discovery raises new questions. “What does it mean to make an offering of a Buddha statue in a Roman temple to Isis in Egypt? It is a topic that will keep anthropologists, historians and others busy for a while,” he says.[8]
Various fragmentary parts of Buddha statues (torsos, heads) had already been discovered at Berenike in 2019, some made of localgypsum.[9][10]
Some of the stone sculpture, both relief and in the round, included images of Buddha and other South Asian deities. (...) The second item was a small stone head of Buddha measuring 9.3 cm high. Its hair was drawn back from the front and sides in wavy strands. The topknot was unusually flat, but clearly marked by a ribbon surrounding it, both typical elements of Buddha heads. The ears, which would have to be characterized by long earlobes, were not represented, but were probably painted on slightly protruding surfaces (Pl. XXIII 1, 2 and 4). An artisan at Berenike had produced it from local gypsum. According to its overall appearance this iconography seems to be Gandharan, Kushan or Guptan.