Tree marks the spot of earliest Buddhist shrine

• Autores: Colin Barras
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 2945, 2013, pág. 10
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Beneath temple thought to mark the location of the Buddha's birth, archaeologists may have discovered the physical roots of the religion: an ancient tree shrine that predates all known Buddhist sites. The archaeological record of Buddhism stretches back to the time of Asoka, an Indian emperor who enthusiastically embraced the religion in the 3rd century BC and built many dedicated temples. But the sage known as Buddha probably lived about three centuries earlier. The remains of one of Asoka's temples lie at Lumbini in Nepal, which many recognize as the Buddha's birthplace. As part of conservation work, Robin Coningham, an archaeologist at Durham University, UK, excavated below the temple foundations. He and his team found evidence of pre-Asokan stonework and, below that, signs of timber structure that was radiocarbon dated to between 800 and 550 BC.