12th century Buddha paintings found in Nepalese cave

Paintings of Buddha dating back at least to the 12th century have been discovered in a cave in Nepal’s remote north-central region.

A team of international researchers found the paintings after being tipped off by a local sheep herder.

A mural with 55 panels depicting the story of Buddha’s life was uncovered in March, with the team using ice axes to break through a snow path to reach the cave in Nepal’s Mustang area, about 160 miles north-west of the capital, Kathmandu.

“What we found is fantastically rich in culture and heritage and goes to the 12th century or earlier,” said Broughton Coburn, a US writer and conservationist.

Coburn said the main mural measured about 25 feet wide, and each panel was about 14 inches by 17 inches.

The team of Nepalese, Italian and American archaeologists, art experts, and climbers, were tipped off by a local sheep herder who mentioned that he had seen a cave with old paintings several years ago when he took shelter from the rain.

“I was overwhelmed with questions,” Coburn said about the discovery.

Besides the main mural, paintings were discovered on other walls of the cave which they believe were made slightly later. A nearby cave had manuscripts which were written in Tibetan language, which were photographed by the team and will be translated by experts.

Coburn said the team planned to perform limited excavation, collection and cataloguing of the manuscripts.

The team has refused to reveal the exact location of the caves fearing visitors could disturb the centuries-old art.