Two Buddha statues carved into the niche of a cliff in the Bamiyan Valley in present-day Afghanistan. Dating back to the fifth century CE, these statues were 55 and 38 metres tall respectively and were considered prime examples of the Gandhara style of sculpture, with clear Hellenistic, Gupta and Sassanian influences. The statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. In 2003, the area and the remaining ruins were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.