ThisundatedfilephotoshowsaviewofthesouthcaveofLeigutaicavesaftermaintenanceandreinforcementworkinLongmenGrottoesinLuoyang,centralChina'sHenanProvince.Archaeologistshavediscoveredmorethan80stonecarvingsandbuildingcomponentsinsidetheLeigutaicavesinLongmenGrottoes,aUNESCOWorldHeritagesite,incentralChina'sHenanProvince.(LongmenGrottoesresearchinstitute/HandoutviaXinhua)ZHENGZHOU,April12(Xinhua)--Archaeologistshavediscoveredmorethan80stonecarvingsandbuildingcomponentsinsidetheLeigutaicavesinLongmenGrottoes,aUNESCOWorldHeritagesite,incentralChina'sHenanProvince.TherelicswerefoundinsidethewestwallofthesouthcaveofLeigutaiduringmaintenanceandreinforcementwork,accordingtotheLongmenGrottoesresearchinstitute.ItisthefirsttimearchaeologistshavefoundstonecarvingsinsidethecaveofLongmenGrottoes,accordingtoLuWei,directorofthehistoryandhumanitiesresearchcenteroftheinstitute.Locatedatthesouthendofthegrottoes'Dongshanarea,Leigutaiboaststhreecavesinthenorth,middleandsouth,andseveralsmallnichesonthecliffoutsidethegrottoes.Theuneartheditemsincludearelativelywell-preservedBuddhahead,38centimetersinheightand22centimetersinwidth,theremainsofaBodhisattvastatue,andfragmentsofrosettesandpatterns,amongotheritems,saidLu.BasedonthecomprehensiveanalysisofthearchaeologicalexcavationresultsoftheLeigutaicavesandthehistoricaldocuments,therelicsarethoughttohavebeenstackedupandembeddedinthewallinthemidtolateMingDynasty(1368-1644)andusedasmaterialstorepairandreinforcethecavewallsinancienttimes."ThefindingsareofgreatvalueforthestudyofthestonecarvingartintheTangDynasty(618-907),thehistoryandcultureofLeigutaicaves,andthemaintenanceandreinforcementworksinancienttimes,"saidLu.ThisundatedfilephotoshowsaBuddhaheadfoundinsidethewestwallofthesouthcaveofLeigutaicavesinLongmenGrottoesinLuoyang,centralChina'sHenanProvince.Archaeologistshavediscoveredmorethan80stonecarvingsandbuildingcomponentsinsidetheLeigutaicavesinLongmenGrottoes,aUNESCOWorldHeritagesite,incentralChina'sHenanProvince.(LongmenGrottoesresearchinstitute/HandoutviaXinhua)ThisundatedfilephotoshowsastaffmembercleaningaBuddhaheadunearthedfromLeigutaicavesinLongmenGrottoesinLuoyang,centralChina'sHenanProvince.Archaeologistshavediscoveredmorethan80stonecarvingsandbuildingcomponentsinsidetheLeigutaicavesinLongmenGrottoes,aUNESCOWorldHeritagesite,incentralChina'sHenanProvince.(LongmenGrottoesresearchinstitute/HandoutviaXinhua)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.