Following the destruction of the statues in 2001, carbon dating of organic internal structural components found in the rubble has determined that the two Buddhas were built circa AD 600, with narrow dates of between AD 544 to 595 for the 38 meter "Eastern Buddha", and between AD 591 and 644 for the larger "Western Buddha". Recent scholarship has also been giving broadly similar dates based on stylistic and historical analysis, although the similarities with the Art of Gandhara had generally encouraged an earlier dating in older literature.