In Australia banknote was found 700 years ago

In Australia, the head of Asian art ray Tregaskis found cash bill 700 years ago. Ray stumbled across the hoard during an inspection of the reverse side of Buddhist sculpture of the XIV century. Victry cranial vault he found a crumpled piece of paper.

Upon closer inspection, the parchment turned out to be 700-year-old banknote of the Ming dynasty - among the earliest printed currency in China. "This is the first time the banknote was discovered inside a wooden Buddhist sculpture," says Tregaskis.

Ancient Buddhist sculptures often contain treasures, but this bill was a unique discovery. "It's okay to find materials such as relics, grains, incense, and semiprecious stones, which were placed in a gilt bronze sculpture of a monk or Lama," says Guan, a specialist of Asian art. "But we never heard that somebody found the money inside the wooden sculpture."

Due dates are printed on the note, the experts were able to verify the age of the sculpture and to better understand its history. They believe that the bill was placed inside the sculpture during commissioning. Estimated 40 or 50 years after it was created the sculpture. The wooden sculpture represents the head of a wise person who has passed through four stages of Enlightenment and attained Nirvana, in the Buddhist culture. The bill itself is over 700 years old, and it was released in China of the Ming dynasty, which covers almost 300 years, from 1368 to 1644.

In addition to its intrinsic value, the bill gives additional understanding of the era. At that time, accounts in China were made from handmade paper, mulberry bark and printed using the technology of cutting, which played an important role throughout Chinese history.

sections: Society, World News