- Archaeologists have found Buddhist shrine from sixth century B.C.
- Its remains were found under a known Buddhist shrine, built about 300 years later
- Results are published in the journal Antiquity
- The older structure seems to have been made of timber
There are about 500 million Buddhists worldwide,
but it's unclear exactly when in history this religion began. The Buddha's life
story spread first through oral tradition, and little physical evidence about
Buddhism's early years has been found.
Now, scientists for the first time
have uncovered archaeological evidence of when the Buddha's monumentally
influential life occurred. Excavations in Nepal date a Buddhist shrine, located
at what is said to be the Buddha's birthplace, to the sixth century B.C.
The research, published in the
journal Antiquity, describes the remains of a timber
structure about the same size and shape as a temple built at the same site in
the third century B.C.
Archaeologists also found reason to
think that a tree grew at the center of this ancient structure, lending support
to the traditional story that the Buddha's mother held onto a tree branch while
giving birth to him.
"This is one of those rare
occasions when belief, tradition, archaeology and science actually come
together," lead study author Robin Coningham, professor at Durham
University in the United Kingdom, said at a press briefing Monday.
If this study is correct, the
Buddha's actual life could have overlapped with a popularly recognized time
frame of 563-483 B.C. But lots of other date ranges for the Buddha have been
tossed around -- some scholars say 448 to 368 B.C., for instance. (The UNESCO website about his birthplace says 623 B.C.)
"We know the entirety of the
shrine sequence started in the sixth century B.C., and this sheds light on a
very long debate," Coningham said.
A place for pilgrims
The Lumbini site in Nepal is one of four principal
locations that are believed to be connected with the Buddha's life. Bodh Gaya
is where he is became enlightened, Sarnath is where he first preached and
Kusinagara is where he died.
Lumbini is located in "a
subtropical chain of forests, marshes and grasslands" between Nepal's
border with India and the Siwalik Range of the Himalayas, according to the
study.
Historical documents from Chinese
travelers show that pilgrims made the journey to Lumbini for many centuries.
The site was lost and stopped
attracting pilgrims after the 15th century -- no one knows why -- but Lumbini
was rediscovered in 1896. It was declared the birthplace of Buddha because of a
sandstone pillar there, dating from the third century B.C. The pillar's inscription
states that Emperor Ashoka visited this site of Buddha's birth.
Pilgrims meditate by a stone pillar
erected by the ancient king Ashoka in the third century B.C., at the Maya Devi
Temple site.
Scholars say the more modern Maya
Devi Temple at Lumbini, named after the mother of Buddha, was constructed on
top of the foundations of more than one earlier temple or stupa, which is a
dome-shaped Buddhist monument.
One of those older temples dates
back to the third century B.C., from the time of Emperor Ashoka. But there's
also evidence of the even earlier temple, which appears to have covered about
the same size and shape as the Ashokan temple, Coningham said.
The earliest site
Beneath remains of the Ashokan
temple, archaeologists found a series of postholes from where timber posts had
rotted out.
"Indeed, our excavations have
demonstrated that the earliest construction at Lumbini appears to have
comprised a timber fence or railing marking a cardinal direction," the
study authors wrote.
The central, open portion of the
most ancient temple appears to have housed a tree, based on the discovery of
large fragments of mineralized tree roots. This part of the temple also had
never been covered by a roof.
To establish the dates of the
earliest Buddhist shrine at Lumbini, Coningham and colleagues analyzed charcoal
found within postholes, as well as sand. Different techniques used on each of
these materials pointed to the same conclusion of the sixth century B.C., but
the postholes indicated a range of about 800 to 545 B.C.
"If the postholes at Lumbini are
indicative of a tree shrine, ritual activity could have commenced either during
or shortly after the life of the Buddha," the study authors wrote.
Julia Shaw, archaeologist at
University College London, applauded the research but noted in an e-mail that other
ritual frameworks existed at the same time as early Buddhism, which could
complicate the conclusions of the study.
"It would be difficult to
determine whether the tree shrine in question was intended for the worship of
the Buddha or was part of a distinct cultic context," she said.
But Coningham said that it's
unlikely that this earlier structure belonged to a different spiritual
tradition, other than Buddhism, because of the "continuity" of the
site between the sixth century B.C. and third century B.C. structures. The
Ashokan temple is clearly Buddhist, and the earlier shrine had the same
footprint.
"Often when you have sites of
one religious activity overtaken by another, you actually get quite dramatic
changes within orientation, within use of structure," Coningham said.
Moreover, before the sixth century
B.C., the area where the site is was just cultivated land, he said.
The new archaeological research on
the Buddha's life will be featured in a National Geographic documentary called
"Buried Secrets of the Buddha" premiering in February. The National
Geographic Society partly funded the research.
When Buddha lived
Buddha was born as Siddhartha
Gautama, in the gardens of Lumbini in Nepal. His parents were
wealthy. At age 29, he renounced his family and became a seeker, Coningham
said. According to tradition, Buddha found truth when he sat down under a tree,
which is now called the Bo tree.
The Buddha happened to be born
during a period of dramatic change, Coningham said. Coins were introduced,
urbanization was occurring and a merchant class emerged.
When the Buddha died at age 80, he
recommended that all Buddhists visit Lumbini, study authors said.
Today, more than a million pilgrims
visit Lumbini each year. The new research, in uncovering layers of history,
adds new dimensions of interest to the site.
The above article belongs to Elizabeth Landau, CNN
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