Tale of a Golden Buddha

On May 30, local authorities in Burma's Arakan state discovered an astonishing trove of Buddhist religious art, consisting of nearly 40 Buddha statues from an old temple in the ancient city of Mrauk U in Arakan State, which fronts on the Bay of Bengal.

The discovery of the figurines, one of which turned out to be made of solid gold and, weighing 6.52 kg,…