Chinese archaeologists removed a pagoda-shaped shrine believed to house part of the Buddha's body out of its iron container on November 22.

The shrine, a wooden structure covered with gilded silver, was excavated from an underground palace at the Dabaoen Temple in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, in July. It is believed to be one of the 84,000 shrines holding Sakyamuni's sarira, or his remains found in cremation ashes, which were constructed under the order of Indian King Asoka (273-236 B.C.).

Archaeologists, who believe that the shrine is the only known one to hold a part of Sakyamuni's skull, have pledged strict measures to protect it from being damaged during the verification process.