The power of virtual reality can help us reimagine just about anything from history. The British Museum has used the technology to help us visualise what the shrine in Amaravati in present-day Andhra Pradesh looked like before it fell into ruin.

The virtual reality tour (video above) starts with a bird’s eye view of the monument, putting into perspective the actual size and grandeur of the shrine, before taking us inside to view the guardian lion sculpture, engraved railings and domes that detail the life of gtheBuddha.

According to the British Museum, the shrine or stupa of Amaravati was founded in 200 BC. It once contained a relic of the Buddha, and was at one time the oldest, largest and most important Buddhist monument in ancient India.