Remains of pre-Ashokan shrines found in Lumbini
Remains of pre-Ashokan shrines found in Lumbini
“We have now very robust
proof that Lumbini’s history extends far before the visit of Emperor
Ashoka. The government of Nepal will step-up efforts to preserve the the
site,” said Sushil Ghimire, Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and
Culture here on Sunday.
Until now the earliest
temples have been attributed to Indian Emperor Ashoka, who in the 3rd
century BC built a pillar and brick temple in Lumbini in his efforts to
spread Buddhism across the region. Lumbini is a UNESCO world heritage
site since 1997.
With the remains of a village dating
back to as early as 1300 BC discovered a few hundred metres south of
Lord Buddha’s birthplace, the history of settlement in the region has
been pushed back by a thousand years.
“For the first
time in South Asia, excavations have revealed a pre-Ashokan temple of
brick, which itself was built over an earlier structure made of timber,”
said Robin Coningham of UK’s Durham University, who co-directed
international experts in the months-long excavations that concluded
recently.
“These two discoveries are great steps
which helps us to better understand the origin of Lord Buddha’s life and
the spiritual importance of Lumbini,” said Acharya Karma Sango Sherpa,
vice president for the Lumbini Development Trust. from The HINDU
Pre-Ashokan shrine discovered in Lumbini
KATHMANDU: New excavations on the premises of Maya Devi Temple in
Lumbini have unearthed ruins of a thriving village with a shrine, dating
back more than 1,000 years before Emperor Ashoka built monuments there
to spread Buddhism, extending the history of the site to a much earlier
date than previously thought.
Until now, the earliest Buddhist temples have been attributed to Emperor Ashoka, who built a pillar and a brick temple in Lumbini in third century BC in his endeavour to spread Buddhism across the region.
“For the first time in South Asia, excavations have revealed a pre-Ashokan temple of brick, which itself was built over a wooden structure,” revealed Prof Robin Coningham of Durham University in UK, who co-directed a team of Nepali and international experts together with Kosh Prasad Acharya, at a press conference in Kathmandu today.
Coningham also said that even older remains of a village dating back to as early as 1300 BC were found a few hundred metres south of Lord Buddha’s birthplace, pushing the date of the
settlement of the region back by a thousand years.
“We have now very robust proof that Lumbini’s history extends far before the visit of Emperor Ashoka. The government of Nepal will step up its efforts to preserve the outstanding universal value of the site,” says Sushil Ghimire, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
“These two discoveries are giant steps, which help us to better understand the origins of Lord Buddha’s life and the spiritual importance of Lumbini,” says Acharya Karma Sango Sherpa, the vice-chair the Lumbini Development Trust that looks after the preservation and management of the site.
The team worked within the framework of a UNESCO project funded by the Government of Japan. The first phase of the project was completed this month in Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. “I am pleased that the project that the UNESCO has implemented in close cooperation with the Lumbini Development Trust and the Department of Archaeology has resulted in such important discoveries,” says Axel Plathe, Head of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu and UNESCO Representative to Nepal. “Japan is honoured to have been able to contribute to the success of this flagship project,” says Kunio Takahashi, the Ambassador of Japan to Nepal.from The Himalayan Times
Until now, the earliest Buddhist temples have been attributed to Emperor Ashoka, who built a pillar and a brick temple in Lumbini in third century BC in his endeavour to spread Buddhism across the region.
“For the first time in South Asia, excavations have revealed a pre-Ashokan temple of brick, which itself was built over a wooden structure,” revealed Prof Robin Coningham of Durham University in UK, who co-directed a team of Nepali and international experts together with Kosh Prasad Acharya, at a press conference in Kathmandu today.
Coningham also said that even older remains of a village dating back to as early as 1300 BC were found a few hundred metres south of Lord Buddha’s birthplace, pushing the date of the
settlement of the region back by a thousand years.
“We have now very robust proof that Lumbini’s history extends far before the visit of Emperor Ashoka. The government of Nepal will step up its efforts to preserve the outstanding universal value of the site,” says Sushil Ghimire, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
“These two discoveries are giant steps, which help us to better understand the origins of Lord Buddha’s life and the spiritual importance of Lumbini,” says Acharya Karma Sango Sherpa, the vice-chair the Lumbini Development Trust that looks after the preservation and management of the site.
The team worked within the framework of a UNESCO project funded by the Government of Japan. The first phase of the project was completed this month in Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. “I am pleased that the project that the UNESCO has implemented in close cooperation with the Lumbini Development Trust and the Department of Archaeology has resulted in such important discoveries,” says Axel Plathe, Head of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu and UNESCO Representative to Nepal. “Japan is honoured to have been able to contribute to the success of this flagship project,” says Kunio Takahashi, the Ambassador of Japan to Nepal.from The Himalayan Times
Unearthed: Pre-Ashoka structures in Lumbini
KATHMANDU, JUL 08 -
New excavations within the Maya Devi temple of Buddha’s birthplace in
Lumbini have revealed a sequence of startling archaeological evidences
of human settlement dating back to at least 1300 BC in the pre-Buddha
era.
Experts say no settled society as old as this one has ever been found
in the Tarai belt of Nepal, which also stretches to several locations in
North India, moving along the banks of Ganges River. The earlier human
movements located in the region were the groups of hunter-gatherers, say
archaeologists involved in the recent excavation project.
The three-year excavation project, headed jointly by Unesco and the
government of Japan, came across a “village-like settlement” 4.5 metres
underneath the ground some 200 metres to the south of the Mayadevi
temple stands at present.
The ancient village, which currently has the area police office on
surface, gives the picture of a settled lifestyle and culture that was
different from the trend of hunting and gathering, which was popular in
other regions of the Tarai belt during that time. Houses made of bricks
and clay and the cultivated land in social structure have been traced.
According to archaeologist Robin Coningham of Durham University, UK, the
society seems to have settled on the bank of a river, a trace of which
has also been identified underground.
Further fortifying the evidence of a pre-Buddha-era settlement in the
area surrounding Mayadevi temple, researchers have also come across a
vertical sequence of two different temples built beneath a Ashoka-era
temple built in around 250 BC, which lies on the premises of the
present-day Mayadevi temple.
According to Prof Coningham, the temple at the bottom was made of clay
and timber. There is one more brick-made temple standing over the one at
the bottom. The third one in the sequence is the Ashoka-era temple
built of brick and timber. Although the temples represent three
different eras, they have structural similarities. The rectangular
temples covering an area of 26x21 metres have similar architectures. All
three temples look like a walled courtyard and none of them has a
ceiling.
“Most Buddha-era documentations are not older than the first or second
century AD,” he said. “The structures we have come across could be the
milestones for further studies.
The temples built in vertical sequence also hints at the people’s religious life before the era of Indian emperor Ashoka.”
The vital findings meanwhile have come as a pool of proven logics for
the government to claim Lumbini to be the authentic birthplace of
Buddha. “This is a ground breaking finding in exploration of
Buddha-related historical evidences. The settlement that dates back to
the pre-Buddha era clearly denotes that a village already existed here,”
said Ves Narayan Dahal, director general at the Department of
Archaeology. “It was in the same village where Buddha was born.”
The excavation programme, which started in July 2010, was the Unesco
project funded by Japan for the preservation of the world cultural
heritage.
Head of the Unesco office in Kathmandu Axel Plathe acclaimed the
successful excavation project saying that the findings would be the
doorway to further important studies in the future.
Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Kunio Takahashi echoed Plathe, expressing
Japan’s honour to have been able to contribute to the success of the
project. He said that the second phase of the excavation project would
be launched soon. from The Kathmandu Post
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