The Ajanta Caves (Ajiṇṭhā leni; Marathi: अजिंठा लेणी) in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India are about 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century B.C. to about 480 or 650 A.D. The caves include paintings and sculptures described by the government Archaeological Survey of India as "the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting", which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of the Jataka tales. The caves were built in two phases starting around the 2nd century B.C., with the second group of caves built around 400–650 A.D. according to older accounts, or all in a brief period of 460 to 480 according to the recent proposals of Walter M. Spink.