"Tarzi actually began his quest for the Reclining Buddha well before the Taliban came into the world, even before his homeland began its descent into war and chaos in the late 1970s. He oversaw earlier efforts to repair and stabilize the standing Buddhas -- which were more than 170 and 120 feet high, respectively -- and was well aware of the report by the Chinese monk Xuanzang of the reclining Buddha. But he did not feel any real urgency back then, believing he would have decades to work on the ancient wonders of Bamian.
Instead, he fled Afghanistan with his family in 1979, and lived, studied and taught archaeology in France for more than 20 years. He did not return to his country until 2002, after the huge niches cut into the cliffs that face the town of Bamian had been emptied of their ancient treasures. Less well known is that the Taliban and looters also stripped ancient frescos and other artwork from hundreds of rooms and corridors dug into the cliffs alongside the giant Buddhas.
Tarzi has no illusions about what condition the reclining Buddha will be in if he finds it. Reclining or sleeping Buddhas -- created to represent the Buddha as he prepared to enter nirvana -- are generally in close contact with soil and mud. In addition, it was most likely made of mud and plaster and would have degraded significantly below ground."

Excerpt from Washington Post