By Ammu Kannampilly
Kathmandu (AFP) - The two
archaeologists had a hunch that the Buddha's birthplace in southern
Nepal held secrets that could transform how the world understood the
emergence and spread of Buddhism.
Their pursuit
would eventually see them excavate the sacred site of Lumbini as monks
prayed nearby, leading to the stunning claim that the Buddha was born in
the sixth century BC, two centuries earlier than thought.
Veteran
Nepalese archaeologist Kosh Prasad Acharya had carried out excavations
in Lumbini before in the early 1990s, when Nepal was still ruled by a
king and a Maoist insurgency had yet to kick off.
The project ended in 1996 but Acharya remained unsatisfied with the results.
"My belief was that there was another cultural deposit below, which we had not uncovered," the 62-year-old told AFP.
He headed back to his government job in the capital Kathmandu and waited to retire, restless to return to Lumbini.
The Buddha's birthplace was
lost and overgrown by jungle before its rediscovery in 1896, when the
presence of a third century BC pillar bearing inscriptions allowed
historians to identify it as Lumbini.
Since
then, it has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site, visited by
millions of Buddhists every year, with numbers expected to rise
exponentially in the following decades.
Acharya
had just retired from his last job, as the director general of the
department of archaeology, when UNESCO asked him to co-direct an
investigation of Lumbini's foundations.
The
cultural organisation asked Acharya and his longtime collaborator,
Robin Coningham, Britain's leading South Asian archaeologist, to head a
team that would examine the site so conservators could develop it for
growing numbers of visitors.
"In
2010, our first year there, we were pretty much the handmaidens to the
conservators," Coningham told AFP in a phone interview from his office
at Britain's Durham University, which helped fund the UNESCO project.
"The Eureka moment came in
2011, when we came across a brick temple located below the existing
Asokan temple, and below that a sort of void.
"It became clear then that there was much more to this excavation."
Over
the next two years, archaeologists, geophysicists and hired workmen
from Nepal and Britain worked on the site, digging in the presence of
meditating monks and nuns.
"It was a very moving, very special experience to dig for traces while pilgrims prayed and paid homage," Acharya said.
They dug for a few weeks each year and sent the samples to laboratories for analysis.
Radiocarbon and optically
stimulated luminescence techniques were used to date fragments of
charcoal and grains of sand found at the site.
The archaeologists also found holes, apparently meant to secure posts, in the open void below the brick temple.
"The
intact holes suggested that whoever had built the brick temple had
taken care not to damage the ancient structure below, suggesting the
site was always considered holy," Coningham said.
Lab tests
confirmed the existence of roots within the void below the brick
structure, suggesting it may have been a shrine where a tree once grew,
possibly the hardwood sal tree under which many believe the Buddha was
born.
The discovery, revealed in November, sparked huge
excitement, but some historians have urged caution, saying the ancient
tree shrine could have been built by pre-Buddhist believers.
"The worship of trees,
often at simple altars, was a ubiquitous feature of ancient Indian
religions," Julia Shaw, a lecturer in South Asian archaeology at
University College London told National Geographic's online edition.
"It
is also possible that what is being described represents an older tree
shrine quite disconnected from the worship of the historical Buddha,"
Shaw added.
According to
Coningham, however, if the Buddhists had appropriated the tree shrine
from non-Buddhists, the site would not have survived relatively
unscathed.
"Also, the
inscriptions at Bodhgaya (where the Buddha achieved enlightenment)
reveal a thriving culture of tree worship, which suggests continuity,"
he added.
Much of what is
known about the Buddha's life has its origins in oral tradition. The
earliest decipherable written records in the region, the inscriptions of
India's Buddhist emperor Asoka, are dated about 250 BC.
Prior
to this discovery, most scholars said that the Buddha -- who renounced
material wealth to embrace and preach a life of non-attachment -- lived
during the fourth century BC, founding a religion that now counts 500
million followers.
Buddhists
in Nepal and Sri Lanka, however, have always believed that the sage was
born around 623 BC, a date that now seems more accurate.
"It's one of the great puzzles, this discovery reveals the endurance of oral traditions," Coningham said.
"This is one of those very rare times when tradition, belief and archaeology all come together."
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