World's Earliest Buddhist Structure Uncovered
November 25, 2013--- At one of Buddhism's most revered pilgrimage sites, a National Geographic archaeologist's team has uncovered evidence that the Buddha lived in the sixth century B.C., much earlier than some scholars had believed. The excavation at Lumbini, Nepal, long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, revealed a previously unknown timber shrine once stood there, it's walls mirroring more recent brick temples.
A documentary on Coningham's exploration of the Buddha’s life, “Buried Secrets of the Buddha,” will premiere on the National Geographic Channel.
Transcript
Voice of ROBIN CONINGHAM, ARCHAEOLOGIST, DURHAM UNIVERSITY & NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GRANTEE:
The Maya Devi Temple is one of the most sacred temples within the Buddhist world.
Once you actually go through the doorways you get this walkway around the edge of the temple, because right in front of you in the middle of the temple actually is an archaeological site.
Vert seldom of archaeology get the opportunity of interfacing with the very beginnings of one of the worl'd's great religions.
There are two major significant findings from these excavations. First is the world's earliest Buddhist structure. And it's not built in brick. It's not built in stone. It's actually built timber. So it is really exciting because gives us for the first time an understanding of what did an early Buddhist structure look like.
The second really significant point is there is a debate as to when the Buddha actually lived, when he was born and when he died. Some have him born in the the 6th Century [or] 7th Century. Some have him born as early as 300 B.C.. From that very early timber structure, we have burnt charcoal from within the post holes. And that date from that earlier structure is the 6th Century B.C.. And those have actually for the first time given us a calendrical date with which we can now begin to understand that lifetime of the Buddha himself.
