I'm afraid that the "beautiful Buddha statue" requires a fair bit of interpolation to see, as the speaker himself makes quite clear. I have no evidence that this is not a buddha, and if this partial image were found in an Indian context we might well assume it to have been a buddha, but in this context it requires really a great deal of imagination to conclude that it is. More than a small amount caution is warranted, I should say.

Jonathan Silk

On Sat, Jul 2, 2022 at 12:49 PM Westin Harris via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Dear Rich,

Here is a link (below) to a fascinating slideshow presentation by Dr. Sidebotham showcasing many South Asian finds at Berenike. 

From what I can tell, he does not mention the Sanskrit inscription but he does discuss numerous other South Asian discoveries at Berenike, including a beautiful Buddha statue at 47:00, a South Asian textile resembling an Ajanta mural at 26:50, South Asian beads at 28:00, and more. 

Video link: https://youtu.be/2q1fyoZN10Q

Sincerely,

Westin Harris
Ph.D. Candidate
Study of Religion
University of California, Davis

2021 Dissertation Fellow,
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies

Sarva Mangalam.

On Jul 2, 2022, at 1:00 PM, Charles DiSimone via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:


Dear Rich,

The talk alluded to in the Facebook post Madhav appears to be here in session 5 of the Gandharan Art in its Buddhist Context: international workshop: Dr Shailendra Bhandare (Ashmolean Museum), and Martina Stoye (Museum für Asiatische Kunst Berlin, SMB, SPK)Indian Dedications at Berenike on the Red Sea. There's a video available but I have always found the Gandhāra Connections website to be very finicky and have not been able to get it to play on my computer but only on my phone. Hopefully you have more luck!

All my best,
Charlie

Dr. Charles DiSimone
Department of Languages and Cultures
Ghent University


On Sat, Jul 2, 2022 at 9:24 AM Asko Parpola via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Excavations have been carried out at Berenike from the early 1990s under Steven Sidebotham, who in 2011 published the following book:
Sidebotham, Steven E., 2011. Berenike and the ancient maritime spice route. (The California World History Library 18.) Berkeley: University of California Press. xviii, 434 pp., ill. 
Steven E. Sidebotham is Professor of History at the University of Delaware, email ses@udel.edu

Best regards, Asko


On 2. Jul 2022, at 1.23, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear Rich,

     I see a March 29 message on FaceBook by Shailen Bhandare:

"The recording of our presentation on interesting "transcultural" findings from the excavations at Berenike is now on-line. I present an exciting discovery - the first ever Sanskrit inscription found in Egypt, dated in the reign of Roman Emperor Philip 'the Arab'! It is a dedicatory inscription left by a Kshatriya named Vasula, and undoubtedly of a Buddhist nature as indicated by its colophon. Thanks again to Steve Sidebotham and Team Berenike!"

Shailen Bhandare will be the best source of information on this topic.

Madhav

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]


On Fri, Jul 1, 2022 at 1:13 PM Richard G. Salomon via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Dear colleagues,

Some weeks ago I saw a reference on Facebook to the recent discovery of a Sanskrit inscription in Egypt, said to be dated to the reign of the Roman emperor Philip "the Arab" (244-249 CE). But I haven't been able to find any further information about this. Has anyone heard any more about this?

Rich Salomon

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