Researchers say they have found oldest Buddhist shrine

Kathmandu: Archeologists in Nepal say they have unearthed traces of a timber structure in southern Nepal that they say is the oldest Buddhist shrine.

Kosh Prasad Acharya, who teamed with archeologists from Durham University in Britain, said Tuesday that a dig inside the sacred Mayadevi Temple in Lumbini recovered the traces of the timber structure. The traces were scientifically tested and confirm dating to the sixth century.

Buddha was born in the sixth century in Lumbini, 280 kilometers (175 miles) southwest of Katmandu.

Acharya says that before this latest discovery, a pillar with inscriptions dating back to the third century was considered to be the oldest Buddhist structure.