Sacred Buddha relics from 3BC return home after 127 years

On India’s request, Sotheby's cancelled auction and returned the artefacts

- BY ALEX ABRAHAM Senior Associate Editor

In a moment described as “historic and profoundly emotional,” India has secured the return of the sacred Piprahwa relics of Buddha, more than a century after they were taken during British colonial rule.

The artefacts, including delicate gems and ornaments, were excavated in 1898 in India by Englishman William Claxton Peppe.