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Archeologists Uncover First Apsidal Buddhist Temple In Nepal

Professor Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage at Durham University and co-director of the excavations, attends a press conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, on February 11, 2026. A collaborative team of national and international experts from the Department of Archaeology, Government of Nepal, Lumbini Development Trust, and Durham University's UNESCO Chair uncovers Nepal's first example of an apsidal Buddhist temple within the ancient city of Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu, one of the best-preserved Early Historic cities and hinterlands in South Asia. A clear category of temple in South Asia, they are called apsidal as they have a curved end wall that defines the religious focus of the monument, with an entrance platform at the other end. The earliest known examples are cut into rock, with later monuments constructed out of stone, timber, or brick. The monument revealed at Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu, the first discovered in Nepal, follows this exact layout but is unusual in its location. It is a rare example of an apsidal temple constructed within a city rather than in a separate religious complex. The newly discovered apsidal structure is built near the center of the city of Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu over the remains of the city's earlier palatial complex. This central walled complex defines an area of 100 by 100 meters through a massive brick wall measuring 1.5 meters wide. After its abandonment, the complex becomes a focus for veneration, with Buddhist monasteries built over its ruined monumental walls. It is within the courtyard of one of these monasteries that the apsidal temple is built, enshrining and respecting an earlier Buddhist stupa within the earlier monastery. (Photo by Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto)

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