Beijing, Jan 13 (IANS): Archaeologists have discovered five precious 'sariras', believed to be collected from the cremated ashes of Buddhist masters, at an ancient tomb in China's Hubei Province.

Sarira, originally meaning "body" or "corpse", is a generic term used by Buddhists to refer to the remains of spiritual masters after their death.

It is very rare to find sariras in a tomb, as they are usually unearthed at Buddhist temples, Chen Qianwan, head of the archaeology institute of Xiangyang City, said Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The bead-shaped holy objects usually are kept in sacred containers. The most recent find was embedded on the top of a tomb belonging to an official from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) at the foot of the Xiangshan Mountain in Xiangyang, according to Chen.

The largest of the sariras has a diameter of about three centimetres. In the light, they vary in colour from red, purple, blue, cyan and orange.

The objects were found in December last year and later identified by prestigious monks and researchers as sariras. They believe the owner of the tomb was Buddhist.

The findings will be kept in the city's museum.