Buddha of Bamiyan (Western)

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The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of the Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan. Both statues were destroyed in March 2001, after the Taliban government declard that they were idols.  This Buddha scanned is the larger 55 metre Western Buddha. The statues represented a later evolution of the classic blended style of ancient art in Afghanistan. Present-day inhabitants of the area, who follow Islam and speak the Hazaragi dialect of Dari Persian, call the larger statue Salsal ("the light shines through the universe") and identify it as male. The shorter statue is called Shamama ("Queen Mother") identifying it as a female figure. With the help of Scan the World community member Kids Kawsar, we compiled a set of hundreds of images from the internet to recreate a 3D version of the lost work. Though discrepancies can be found between the original and the digital reconstruction, we aim to share this work in order to continue the story and legacy of this lost heritage.