India
Satellite images reveal architectural richness beneath Bodh Gaya shrine | India News – Times of India
PATNA: A geospatial analysis Using satellite imagery and ground surveys, evidence has been found for the presence of “enormous architectural wealth” buried in the Mahabodhi Temple complex and its surroundings in Bihar Bodhgayaofficials reported Saturday.
The research was conducted by Association for the Development of Bihar Heritagea department of the Department of Arts, Culture and Youth, in collaboration with University of Cardiff in UK.
The Mahabodhi Temple Complex, a UNESCO World Heritageis one of the four sacred areas related to the life of Lord Gautam Buddha. Bodh Gaya is a place where Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
“The research has provided evidence of the presence of archaeological treasures beneath the ground of the UNESCO World Heritage site and surrounding areas… It is a huge architectural treasure that needs to be further excavated,” Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, deputy secretary of the Arts, Culture and Youth Department, told a news agency.
The British university and BHDS are working together on the project ‘Archaeology in the footsteps of the Chinese traveller Xuanzang’.
MB Rajni, one of the project members and a lecturer at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru, studied satellite images of the Mahabodhi temple and its surroundings and tried to correlate the findings with the description of ‘Xuanzang’, she said.
“BHDS has been working in collaboration with Cardiff University on the multidisciplinary project on the archaeological trail of the journey of the 7th century Chinese translator monk Xuanzang in Bihar. Satellite images from recent years have shown an alignment of structures to the north of the temple, buried underground,” Bamhrah said.
What is striking is that the images show the shift of the Niranjana River from east to west.
“Let us not forget that the Mahabodhi Temple is located west of the river, and the Sujata Stupa and several other archaeological remains are located east of the river. The monuments and other archaeological remains on the east of the river are now considered independent of the Mahabodhi Temple. But the latest find shows that both the temple and the Sujata Stupa along with other archaeological remains were on the same riverbank in the past,” she said.
Bamhrah said this is really “very important.” “So there is a strong possibility that the monuments and other archaeological remains, now east of the river, were part of the Mahabodhi complex,” the official said.
BHDS plans to “initiate research to demarcate the boundaries of the Mahabodhi complex in light of these findings,” Bamhrah said. “New Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys, followed by excavations, will be undertaken to unravel the buried archaeological features shown in satellite images,” she added.
The research was conducted by Association for the Development of Bihar Heritagea department of the Department of Arts, Culture and Youth, in collaboration with University of Cardiff in UK.
The Mahabodhi Temple Complex, a UNESCO World Heritageis one of the four sacred areas related to the life of Lord Gautam Buddha. Bodh Gaya is a place where Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
“The research has provided evidence of the presence of archaeological treasures beneath the ground of the UNESCO World Heritage site and surrounding areas… It is a huge architectural treasure that needs to be further excavated,” Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, deputy secretary of the Arts, Culture and Youth Department, told a news agency.
The British university and BHDS are working together on the project ‘Archaeology in the footsteps of the Chinese traveller Xuanzang’.
MB Rajni, one of the project members and a lecturer at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru, studied satellite images of the Mahabodhi temple and its surroundings and tried to correlate the findings with the description of ‘Xuanzang’, she said.
“BHDS has been working in collaboration with Cardiff University on the multidisciplinary project on the archaeological trail of the journey of the 7th century Chinese translator monk Xuanzang in Bihar. Satellite images from recent years have shown an alignment of structures to the north of the temple, buried underground,” Bamhrah said.
What is striking is that the images show the shift of the Niranjana River from east to west.
“Let us not forget that the Mahabodhi Temple is located west of the river, and the Sujata Stupa and several other archaeological remains are located east of the river. The monuments and other archaeological remains on the east of the river are now considered independent of the Mahabodhi Temple. But the latest find shows that both the temple and the Sujata Stupa along with other archaeological remains were on the same riverbank in the past,” she said.
Bamhrah said this is really “very important.” “So there is a strong possibility that the monuments and other archaeological remains, now east of the river, were part of the Mahabodhi complex,” the official said.
BHDS plans to “initiate research to demarcate the boundaries of the Mahabodhi complex in light of these findings,” Bamhrah said. “New Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys, followed by excavations, will be undertaken to unravel the buried archaeological features shown in satellite images,” she added.
