Some of the important archaeological sites in Nepal are:
Tilaurakot: is located in the Terai region of Nepal, where Nepal’s first settlements were probably located. It is situated in Kapilvastu district in western Nepal, and used to be the capital of Shakya dynasty.
Gotihawa: the ancient ruins are located about eleven kilometers south of Taulihawa, the present district headquarters. To the north of the Gotihawa village, there is an ancient brick stupa and an Ashokan monolithic column. This site can be identified as the Nirvan stupa of Kakuchhanda Buddha(on of the previous Buddhas), whose hometown lies within one kilometer of this setup-pillar complex.
Sagarhawa: was excavated in 1896 and seventeen miniature stupas were found there. In the same general region, important sites of ancient civilization have been identified at Lumbini, Banjarhi, Nipaniya and Kadyatawa. This archaeological site is located about two kilometers north of Tilaurakot on the bank of the Banganga River.
Bhediari: is located nearly ten kilometers south of Biratnagar. Many important brick temples have been excavated and they appear to have been built during the Sunga period. A number of silver punch-marked coins have been found, but no stone or terra-cotta idols have been found.
Varahakshetra: is an important temple site located at the confluence of the Koka and Koshi rivers. This site belongs to the later Gupta period.
Narasingha Tappa: an idol of Vishnu was discovered here few years back. The idol belongs to the fifth or sixth century A.D., based on the Gupta art tradition and has been temporarily kept inside a local Shiva temple.
Janakpur:an idol of Uma lying over a bed and feeding a baby has been discovered at the Ram-Janaki temple complex near Janakpur. Many archaeological pieces belonging to the Karnatakas of Simrangarh from the 12th or 13th century A.D. have been found here. Influence of Malla art period of Kathmandu can also be seen.
Simarangarh: was the old city of the Karnatakas of Mithila and was built by King Nanyadeva in 1097-98 A.D. The ruins of the city extend over the area of sixteen kilometer and the whole area is surrounded by high kiln-burnt bricks.
Excavations at Jhapa district, Nepal
Photo Source URL: http://www.himalayanfootsteps.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Buddha.jpg
Sharma, Rashmi. Nepal and SAARC. New Delhi: Regal Publications, 2007.
For more information: http://www.thamel.com/htms/archaelogy.htm
http://www.doa.gov.np/content.php?id=253
http://www.archaeological.org/lectures/abstracts/5907
http://www.himalayanfootsteps.com/archaeology-in-nepal/
