History News: World's Earliest Buddhist Structure Uncovered

 The Buddha was born and lived as much as 300 years earlier than some previously thought. At one of Buddhism's most revered pilgrimage sites, a National Geographic archaeologist's team has uncovered evidence that the Buddha lived in the sixth century B.C., much earlier than some scholars had believed. The excavation at Lumbini, Nepal, long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, revealed a previously unknown timber shrine once stood there, its walls mirroring more recent brick temples.

A documentary on Coningham's exploration of the Buddha's life, "Buried Secrets of the Buddha," will premiere in February internationally on the National Geographic Channel.