Buddhas of Bamiyan

The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th-century monumental statues, Salsal and Shahmama, which were carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of central Afghanistan, 130 kilometres northwest of Kabul at an elevation of 2,500 metres. Carbon dating of the structural components of the Buddhas has determined that the smaller 38 m "Eastern Buddha" was built around 570 AD, and the larger 55 m "Western Buddha" was built around 618 AD, which would date both to the time when the Hephthalites ruled the region.The statues represented a later evolution of the classic blended style of ancient art in Afghanistan. The statues consisted of the male Salsal and the shorter female Shamama, as they were called by the locals.