In a rare find, Chinese archaeologists have discovered five precious relics believed to be from the cremated ashes of Buddhist masters at an ancient tomb in central China's Hubei Province.
The objects were found in late last month and later identified by monks and researchers as sariras (relics)
The relics are believed to be collected from the cremated ashes of Buddhist masters.
It is very rare to find sariras in a tomb, as they are usually unearthed at Buddhist temples, Chen Qianwan, head of the archaeology institute of Xiangyang City said today.
They believe the owner of the tomb was a Buddhist.
The findings will be kept in the city's museum.
The bead-shaped holy objects are usually kept in sacred containers.
The most recent find was embedded on the top of a tomb belonging to an official from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) at the foot of the Xianshan Mountain in Xiangyang, state-run Xinhua quoted Chen as saying.
The largest of the sariras has a diameter of about 3 centimetres. They vary in colour from red, purple, blue, cyan and orange in the light.
