Archaeologists have unearthed a carved Buddha head at a Ramdev Pir temple—a temple dedicated to a the local Hindu folk deity Baba Ramdev—at Negardi Village near Taranga in the Indian state Gujarat. According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the find will further consolidate the work of Excavation Branch V of the ASI, which has expanded the search and excavation of Buddhist-related sites to include northern Gujarat.

“We have found a Buddha head in a Ramdev Pir temple at Negardi Village in Saltasana Taluka, about 10 kilometers north of Taranga Hills,” a senior ASI official told The Times of India. “It is a round face with curly hair and long ears. The eyebrows are arched above half-closed eyes. Depressions can be found on the corners of the lips. A similar image was mentioned in the excavation report for Devni Mori [an important Buddhist site in Gujarat] as ‘Type C.’ We at the moment assume that the head might be belonging to an idol dating back to 4th–5th century CE.”

A team of archaeologists under the leadership of Dr. Abhijit Ambekar, the deputy superintending archaeologist, has been working for the past three years to uncover a number of heritage sites associated with Buddhism in Gujarat and western India. The archaeologists have also uncovered various Buddhist structures in or near the cities of Gunja, Taranga, Vadnagar, and Valabhi, as well as Sharmishtha Lake.

According to experts, the findings indicate that Gujarat has a long Buddhist history. Various forms of Buddhism are thought to have existed through the centuries in the area, which extends from Valabhi, Junagadh, Saurashtrain the southwest, Taranga in the north, and Devni Mori in the east.