"National Monument Complex"

#13304677

11 February 2026

Archaeologists from the Department of Archaeology, Government of Nepal, Lumbini Development Trust, and Durham University hold a press conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, on February 11, 2026, announcing the uncovering of the first apsidal Buddhist temple in Nepal. 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 uncover 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.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13304679

11 February 2026

Professor Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage at Durham University and co-director of the excavations, briefs about the findings during 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.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13304680

11 February 2026

Professor Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage at Durham University and co-director of the excavations, briefs about the findings during 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.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13304681

11 February 2026

Professor Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage at Durham University and co-director of the excavations, briefs about the findings during 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.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13304676

11 February 2026

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.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13304678

11 February 2026

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.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049477

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049478

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049479

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049480

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049481

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049484

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049486

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049490

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049493

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.

#13049496

2 December 2025

School students wear dog and cow masks to lead a PETA India protest against the Supreme Court's animal roundup order on the National Day of Action in front of the historic Victoria Memorial monument in Kolkata, India, on December 2, 2025. The Supreme Court on November 7, 2025, directs all States and Union Territories to ''forthwith'' remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them ''to a designated shelter'' after due sterilization and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Restricted to Editorial Use Only.
Commercial use is not permitted without prior authorization.
Please contact us for more information.