Earthen pinnacle found in Tilaurakot excavation

By Narad Kohar,Taulihawa, Mar. 21: A pinnacle has been found during excavations on the southern side of the Kanthak Stupa near Tilaurakot, the administrative headquarters of Lord Buddha's father King Suddhodhana.

The 42-centimetre-long pinnacle made of clay was unearthed this week during the excavation of a monastery and a pond near the Kanthak Stupa.

Archaeologists claim that this artefact is the first of its kind found in Kapilvastu. 

The pinnacle is yet to be dated so it is not known who made it and when. 

An earthen idol of the deity Gajalaxmi and pieces of pottery were also discovered with the finial. 

The Kanthak Stupa is located near the eastern gate of the Tilaurakot palace complex and is related to the horse Siddhartha Gautam, who later attained enlightenment and became the Shakyamuni Buddha, took when he left his palace at the age of 29. 

The horse was named Kanthak and Siddhartha rode it from his palace to the river Anoma. The river today lies in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, India and is known as the Ami River. 

After reaching the river, Siddhartha renounced his garments and ornaments and began his ascetic quest for knowledge. 

His horse, Kanthak, though returned to Tilaurakot and near the palace's eastern gate, willingly shed its mortal coil. The Kanthak Stupa marks the place where the steed divested its body.

Himal Upreti, the archaeological officer of the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), informed that a geophysical survey was carried out here in 2014. 

"That survey identified the structures of a monastery and pond," he informed. "We dug up a small section in 2015 and found that monastery and pond walls were made of Maurya-era bricks."

The 2015 dig had also unearthed 497 silver punch-marked coins, also dating to the Maurya period of the third century AD. 

Another geophysical survey was carried out in 2017 and the latest excavations this year are being carried out by the Department of Archaeology in partnership with the LDT, the United Kingdom's Durham University and national and international experts.