A cross believed to be 1,200-years-old has been uncovered in the Himalayas in Pakistan.
The ancient cross is made of white marble and was discovered near the village of Kavardo in the Karakoram mountain range.
The location of the find sits along what was once the Silk Road, a route traversed by merchants trading goods between Europe, the Middle East and China.
Details of the find were revealed at a recent press conference held by three researchers from the University of Baltistan, in Skardu, AINA news agency reports.
The Kavardo cross, as it has now been dubbed, measures 2.1m by 1.8m and weighs between three and four tons.
The researchers date it to between 1,200 and 1,400-years-old but want to conduct further analysis to determine the exact age.
Wajid Bhatti, another researcher from the University of Baltistan, told AINA the cross was "one of the largest on the Indian subcontinent".
Mansha Noor, General Manager of Caritas Pakistan, was excited by the find.
"This is really big news for all of us," he told AINA.
"This shows that Christianity already existed in the region at that time, and that there must have been a church and Christian homes.
"Currently, no Christian family lives there, but this was clearly the case at the time."
