ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 6, 1996 TAG: 9602060080
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: KATMANDU, NEPAL
Beneath the garden and under a temple more than 2,000 years old, archaeologists have uncovered the site where they believe Buddha was born.
A team of archaeologists from six countries has excavated rooms where an Indian prince named Siddhartha was born, the government said Monday.
Siddhartha renounced the material world to become a traveling monk in the sixth century B.C., and became known as ``Buddha'' - the enlightened one.
Ancient inscriptions on a pillar above the excavated chambers claimed Buddha was born there.
There was no independent confirmation of the findings.
The ancient Indian state where Siddhartha is believed to have been born now straddles southern Nepal and the modern Indian state of Bihar.
Some Indian historians have maintained that Buddha was probably born in India. But archaeologists in Nepal said the latest excavation in Lumbini, 145 miles southwest of the Nepalese capital, Katmandu, should end the controversy.
- Associated Press
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