A pair of the nation's oldest wood-carved statues of Buddha at Haeinsa Temple in South Gyeongsang Province has been elevated to the status of “national treasure.”

The Cultural Heritage Administration(CHA) announced on Wednesday that the two statues were being promoted from their designation as a “treasure,” which was granted in 2012.

The statues, estimated to have been made during the Unified Silla era in the late ninth century, are well-known for their outstanding craftsmanship, especially in the faces and clothing.

The state agency explained that the promotion reflected the value of the statues as artifacts from the early years of the temple and as representatives of its sect of Buddhism.