A 2300-year-old Apsidal (with a large domed roof) temple belonging to the Buddhist period has been discovered in the Bazira city of Swat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (northwest Pakistan).
The discovery has been made by the joint excavation team of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Archaeology Department and Italian Archaeological Mission.
The Italian Archaeological Mission claims that the Swat site now belongs to the oldest Buddhist temple in the world.
The credit of the oldest Buddhist site was earlier given to the Taxila ruins in Pakistan. Apart from the temple, 2700 other artefacts like coins, rings, pots, etc. belonging to the Buddhist period were also unearthed.
Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings attributed to Gautam Buddha. It started in ancient India around late 6th century BCE and is around 2500 years old.
