An international mission has arrived to inspect Tilaurakot, the ancient Shakya capital, where Siddhartha Gautam spent his princely life before becoming the Buddha. The government has proposed that the site be included in the Unesco World Heritage Sites list.

The mission will conduct a field inspection and submit a report, which Unesco will use to determine Tilaurakot’s eligibility for World Heritage status. Their visit comes amid concerns that Lumbini, Buddha’s birthplace and a World Heritage site, may be added to Unesco’s ‘World Heritage in Danger’ list.

The three-member mission, consisting of experts from various countries under the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), will conduct a four-day on-site assessment. The 47th session of the Unesco World Heritage Centre, scheduled for 2025 in Bulgaria, will decide on Tilaurakot’s listing.

Extensive preparations were made before the mission’s arrival, including two weeks of cleaning, removing shrubs and grass, and restoring traditional mud paths by dismantling nearby blacktopped roads. The Lumbini Development Trust also demolished its two-storey office near the site to expand the area.

Although some details including the names of the experts and the mission’s activities remain undisclosed, Gyanin Rai, senior director of the Lumbini Development Trust, confirmed that they are following the mission’s request for confidentiality. The Trust has been transporting 30 workers daily from Lumbini to assist with the cleanup. Wooden walkways within Tilaurakot have been repaired.

The federal government has acquired around 50 bigha (around 34 hectares) of land in the surrounding area with the purpose of including Tilaurakot on the World Heritage Sites list. The government has already declared around 100 bigha (around 68 hectares) of land around Tilaurakot as a protected monument zone. The Tilaurakot area, which initially spread in 35 bigha (approximately 24 hectares), now spans around 85 bigha (around 58 hectares), with authorities gradually acquiring more land.

Sanuraja Shakya, member secretary of the Lumbini Development Trust, said the site has been prepared to leave a strong impression on the mission regarding its preservation efforts. “Heritage-friendly signboards and banners have been installed, and the site is decorated with Buddhist flags and lungta (Tibetan prayer flags),” said Shakya.

Tilaurakot was added to Unseco’s tentative list in 1995, and efforts to secure full World Heritage status have been ongoing for the past 29 years. Duncan Marshall, an Australian heritage expert, compiled the strategic nomination dossier based on research and findings from over the years.

On January 31, Sudhir Bhattarai, Nepal’s ambassador to France and permanent representative to Unesco, handed over the nearly 1,000-page dossier to Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the Unesco World Heritage Centre in Paris. The mission’s visit follows the dossier’s submission.

The excavation project has been continued in Tilaurakot and other monuments in its vicinity since 2013. The excavation led by British archaeologist Robin Coningham of Durham University, UK unearthed various ruins, coins, pottery, and other artefacts, providing scientific evidence of an ancient civilisation dating back to at least 2,800 years. Recent discoveries and scientific dating of these artefacts also indicate that Tilaurakot showed the first signs of urbanisation as early as the sixth century BC.

At the turn of the fifth century, travelling through South Asia, Chinese monk Faxian had described a flourishing city along what is today the Nepal-India border. Almost two hundred years later, Xuanzang, another Chinese monk and scholar, described seeing a similar flourishing kingdom.

An archaeological survey that has been ongoing since 2013 has unearthed evidence suggesting that the sites described by the two ancient travellers align with what has been buried underground for centuries.

During excavations in Tilaurakot in 2015, archaeologists unearthed 494 ancient “punch mark” coins in an earthen pot during the excavation in Tilaurakot in 2015. During an excavation in Tilaurakot in 2015, archaeologists recovered 494 ancient “punch mark” coins in an earthen pot. In 2016, archaeologists found remnants of houses, roads, walls, and wells after three years of digging. Similarly, post holes were also found in the area during the earlier excavation.

Tilaurakot, the city of King Suddhodhana, where Prince Siddhartha spent 29 years of his youth, holds great cultural and historical importance. The mission’s findings will be submitted to Unesco’s advisory group, which will review and make recommendations ahead of the final decision at the 2025 World Heritage Centre session.

If approved, Tilaurakot will become Nepal’s fifth World Heritage site, joining the Kathmandu Valley, Lumbini, Chitwan National Park, and Sagarmatha National Park.