Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The Earliest Buddhist Shrine: Excavating the Birthplace of the Buddha, Lumbini (Nepal)

Coningham, R.A.E.; Acharya, K.P; Strickland, K.M.; Davis, C.E.; Manuel, M.J; Simpson, I.A.; Gilliland, K.; Tremblay, J.; Kinnaird, T.C.; Sanderson, D.C.W

Authors

K.P Acharya

K.M. Strickland

I.A. Simpson

K. Gilliland

J. Tremblay

T.C. Kinnaird

D.C.W Sanderson



Abstract

Key locations identified with the lives of important religious founders have often been extensively remodelled in later periods, entraining the destruction of many of the earlier remains. Recent UNESCO-sponsored work at the major Buddhist centre of Lumbini in Nepal has sought to overcome these limitations, providing direct archaeological evidence of the nature of an early Buddhist shrine and a secure chronology. The excavations revealed a sequence of early structures preceding the major rebuilding by Asoka during the third century BC. The sequence of durable brick architecture supplanting non-durable timber was foreseen by British prehistorian Stuart Piggott when he was stationed in India over 70 years ago. Lumbini provides a rare and valuable insight into the structure and character of the earliest Buddhist shrines.

Citation

Coningham, R., Acharya, K., Strickland, K., Davis, C., Manuel, M., Simpson, I., …Sanderson, D. (2013). The Earliest Buddhist Shrine: Excavating the Birthplace of the Buddha, Lumbini (Nepal). Antiquity, 87(338), 1104-1123. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00049899

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2013-12
Deposit Date May 30, 2013
Journal Antiquity
Print ISSN 0003-598X
Electronic ISSN 1745-1744
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 87
Issue 338
Pages 1104-1123
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00049899
Keywords Nepal, Lumbini, First millennium BC, Buddha, Asoka, Mauryan Horizon, Shrine, Temple.