Archaeologists Discover the Birthplace of Buddha Dates Back to the 6th Century BC

Archaeologists have made a surprising discovery that may have revealed a little bit more about Buddha's life. They've uncovered evidence of a structure at the birthplace of Buddha that may actually give a "birthday" to the figure linked to the flowering of Buddhism.

"Very little is known about the life of Buddha, except through textual sources and oral tradition," said Robin Coninham, one of the archaeologists, in a news release. "We thought 'why not go back to archaeologist to try to answer some of the questions about his birth?' Now, for the first time, we have an archaeological sequence at Lumbini that shows a building there as early as the sixth century BC."

The archaeologists discovered this new information about the Buddha within the sacred Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, Nepal. Long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, this location was recently found to house the remains of a previously unknown sixth-century BC timber structure under a series of brick temples. Laid out on the same design as those above it, the timber structure contains an open space in the center that links it to the nativity story of the Buddha himself.

In order to determine the actual dates of the timber shrine, the archaeologists tested fragments of charcoal and grains of sand. They used a combination of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence techniques. In addition, the scientists were able to confirm the presence of ancient tree roots within the temple's central void.

Buddhist tradition records that Queen Maya Devi, the mother of Buddha, gave birth to him while holding on to the branch of a tree within the Lumbini Garden, midway between the kingdoms of her husband and parents. The archaeologists involved in this discovery believe that the open space in the center of the timber shrine they found may have accommodated a tree.

"These discoveries are very important to better understand the birthplace of the Buddha," said Ram Kumar Shrestha, Nepal's minister of culture, tourism and civil aviation, in a news release.

The latest findings and details of this new site are published in the journal Antiquity.