Emmerling

Those fragments - more than 1,000 - would have to be sent to Germany for treatment, and Emmerling declined to say what such an effort would cost.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

"The Buddhas once had an intensely colorful appearance," Emmerling said in a recent statement.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

Those fragments - more than 1,000 - would have to be sent to Germany for treatment, and Emmerling declined to say what such an effort would cost.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

The researchers also found "an astonishing degree of artistic skill" in fashioning the massive statues - 38 and 55 meters high, respectively - which were carved from the rock but had garments made out of clay as smooth as porcelain, Emmerling says.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

The researchers also found "an astonishing degree of artistic skill" in fashioning the massive statues - 38 and 55 meters high, respectively - which were carved from the rock but had garments made out of clay as smooth as porcelain, Emmerling says.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

Drawing on organic material in the clay layers in the rubble of the destroyed Buddhas, Emmerling's team used mass spectrometry analysis to date the smaller Buddha to between A.D. 544 and A.D. 595 and the larger Buddha to between A.D. 591 and A.D.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

Drawing on organic material in the clay layers in the rubble of the destroyed Buddhas, Emmerling's team used mass spectrometry analysis to date the smaller Buddha to between A.D. 544 and A.D. 595 and the larger Buddha to between A.D. 591 and A.D.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

"These have survived not only nearly 1,500 years of history but even the explosion in some parts," Emmerling said.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

But material evidence was lacking until a team led by Erwin Emmerling of the Technical University of Munich analyzed the remains.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011

"The Buddhas once had an intensely colorful appearance," Emmerling said in a recent statement.

Remains of Bamiyan Buddhas yield additional details about statues' origins 2011