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   From: peter.terpstra7@gmail.com   
      
   By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | June 30, 2016 08:53am ET   
      
   Archaeologists have discovered what may be a skull bone from the revered   
   Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. The bone was hidden inside a model of a stupa,   
   or a Buddhist shrine used for meditation.   
      
   The research team found the 1,000-year-old model within a stone chest in a   
   crypt beneath a Buddhist temple in Nanjing, China. Inside the stupa model   
   archaeologists found the remains of Buddhist saints, including a parietal   
   (skull) bone that inscriptions say belonged to the Buddha himself.   
      
   The model is made of sandalwood, silver and gold, and is covered with   
   gemstones made of crystal, glass, agate and lapis lazuli, a team of   
   archaeologists reported in an article published in the journal Chinese   
   Cultural Relics.   
      
   Inscriptions engraved on the stone chest that the model was found in say that   
   it was constructed during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong (A.D. 997-1022),   
   during the Song Dynasty. Also inscribed on the stupa are the names of   
   people who donated money and material to build the model, as well as some   
   of the people who constructed the model. [See Photos of the Model Stupa   
   Holding Buddha Remains]   
      
   While the inscriptions say that the skull bone belongs to the Buddha, it   
   is unknown whether it really does come from him. In the journal article,   
   archaeologists didn't speculate on how likely it is. The bone is being   
   treated with great respect and has been interred in the modern-day Qixia   
   Temple by Buddhist monks.   
      
   Stone chest inscription Discovered beneath the Grand Bao'en Temple,   
   the stupa model — which is 117 centimeters tall and 45 cm wide (nearly   
   4 feet by 1.5 feet) — was stored within an iron box, which, in turn,   
   was stored within a stone chest.   
      
   An inscription found within the stone chest was written by a man named   
   Deming about 1,000 years ago, saying that he is "the Master of Perfect   
   Enlightenment, Abbot of Chengtian Monastery [and] the Holder of the   
   Purple Robe" (as translated by researchers in the journal article). He   
   tells the story of how the Buddha's parietal bone came to China. [Photos:   
   1,700-Year-Old Buddhist Sculptures Found in Shrine]   
      
   Deming wrote that after the Buddha "entered parinirvana" (a final death   
   that breaks the cycle of death and rebirth), that his body "was cremated   
   near the Hirannavati River" in India. The man who ruled India at the time,   
   King Ashoka (reign 268-232 B.C.), decided to preserve the Buddha's remains,   
   which he "divided into a total of 84,000 shares," Deming wrote. "Our land   
   of China received 19 of them," including the parietal bone, he added.   
      
   The parietal bone was kept in a temple that was destroyed about 1,400   
   years ago during a series of wars, Deming wrote. "The foundation ruins …   
   were scattered in the weeds," Deming wrote. "In this time of turbulence,   
   did no one care for Buddhist affairs?"   
      
   Emperor Zhenzong agreed to rebuild the temple and have the Buddha's parietal   
   bone, and the remains of other Buddhist saints, buried in an underground   
   crypt at the temple, according to Deming's inscriptions. They were interred   
   on July 21, 1011 A.D., in "a most solemn and elaborate burial ceremony,"   
   Deming wrote.   
      
   Deming praised the emperor for rebuilding the temple and burying the   
   Buddha's remains, wishing the emperor a long life, loyal ministers and   
   numerous grandchildren: "May the Heir Apparent and the imperial princes   
   be blessed and prosperous with 10,000 offspring; may Civil and Military   
   Ministers of the Court be loyal and patriotic; may the three armed forces   
   and citizens enjoy a happy and peaceful time …"   
      
   Buddha burial   
      
   The parietal bone of the Buddha was buried within an inner casket made   
   of gold, which, in turn, was placed in an outer casket made of silver,   
   according to the archaeologists. The silver casket was then placed inside   
   the model of the stupa.   
      
   The gold and silver caskets were decorated with images of lotus patterns,   
   phoenix birds and gods guarding the caskets with swords. The outer casket   
   also has images of spirits called apsaras that are shown playing musical   
   instruments.   
      
   The parietal bone of the Buddha was placed within the gold inner casket   
   along with three crystal bottles and a silver box, all of which contain   
   the remains of other Buddhist saints.   
      
   Engraved on the outside of the model are several images of the Buddha,   
   along with scenes depicting stories from the Buddha's life, from his birth   
   to the point when he reached "parinirvana," a death from which the Buddha   
   wasn't reborn — something that freed him from a cycle of death and rebirth,   
   according to the Buddhist religion.   
      
   Impact in China   
      
   A large team of archaeologists from the Nanjing Municipal Institute of   
   Archaeology excavated the crypt between 2007 and 2010; they were supported   
   by experts from other institutions in China.   
      
   Although the excavations received little coverage by Western media outlets,   
   they were covered extensively in China. Chinese media outlets say that,   
   after the parietal bone of the Buddha was removed, Buddhist monks interred   
   the bone and the remains of the other Buddhist saints in Qixia Temple, a   
   Buddhist temple used today. The Buddha's parietal bone and other artifacts   
   from the excavation were later displayed in Hong Kong and Macao.   
      
   When the bone traveled to Macao in 2012, the media outlet Xinhua reported   
   that "tens of thousands of Buddhist devotees will pay homage to the sacred   
   relic," and that "more than 140,000 tickets have been sold out by now,   
   according to the [event organizer]."   
      
   An article detailing the discoveries was published in Chinese in 2015   
   in the journal Wenwu, before being translated and published in Chinese   
   Cultural Relics.   
      
   Original article on Live Science.   
      
      
   http://www.livescience.com/55243-buddha-skull-bone-found-in-crypt.html   
      
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