the monastery area was excavated by a team under oliver kessler, who discovered an elevated ancient image house (buddhu gedera) and a chapter house (dharma salawa) on the west side of the monastery. they found a standing buddha statue about 3.50 metres tall and two bodhisattva statues each about 1.80 metres in height. traces of weather-resistant colouring - the source of which is unclear - are evidence that the statues date back to a period before the 8th century.