The key discovery of the oldest 'Buddhist shrine' at Buddha's birthplace in Nepal will throw more light on one of the world's earliest religions, archaeologists have said.
The international team, led by Nepal's top archaeologists Robin Coningham and Kosh Prasad Acharya, said the discovery at Lumbini in western Nepal contributes to a greater understanding of the early development of Buddhism as well as the spiritual importance of the place.
Recent excavations within the sacred Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage site long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, uncovered the remains of a previously unknown sixth-century BC timber structure, suggesting the sage may have lived earlier than thought.
"This is the first archaeological material linking the life of the Buddha - and thus the first flowering of Buddhism - to a specific century," UNESCO Nepal office said in a release.
"Very little is known about the life of the Buddha, except through textual sources and oral tradition," said lead researcher Coningham from Durham University's Archaeology Department.
"Now, for the first time, we have an archaeological sequence at Lumbini that shows a building there as early as the sixth century BC," Coningham said.
There is dispute over the birth date of Buddha, many scholars believe that the sage lived and taught in the 4th century BC and died at the age of 80.
However, Nepalese authorities favour 623 BC as the birth date of Buddha, though other traditions favour more recent dates, around 400 BC. Now with the new excavations, it has been confirmed that the Buddha's birth could have taken place in seventh century BC as claimed by the Nepalese authorities or even earlier than that period, says Nabha Basnet, an official at UNESCO Nepal office.
To determine the dates of the timber shrine and a previously unknown early brick structure above it, fragments of charcoal and grains of sand were tested using a combination of radiocarbon and optically-stimulated luminescence techniques.
Geoarchaeological research has confirmed the presence of ancient tree roots within the temple's central void.
The archaeological investigation was funded by the Government of Japan in partnership with the Nepal government under a UNESCO project aimed at strengthening the conservation and management of Lumbini.
