Kasthamandap
Coordinates: 27°42′14″N 85°18′21″E / 27.70400°N 85.30583°E
Kasthamandap (Sanskrit: काष्ठमन्डप, Nepal Bhasa:मरु सत: Maru Satta:; literally "Wood-Covered Shelter") was a three-storied public shelter that included a shrine consecrated to Gorakshanath situated at Maru, Kathmandu. The capital of Nepal. Several myths and stories about the date of the construction of the Kasthamandap Temple have been resolved with the recent archeological findings. The newly discovered objects during the excavation here in the aftermath of the earthquake have suggested that the Kasthamandap may have been built in the 7th century during the Lichhavi era.
Before this, it was assumed that the Kasthamandap was built in around the 12th century.
A team of international and national experts from the Department of Archaeology (DoA), Government of Nepal and Durham University had dug beneath the Kasthamandap some seven months back.
During the excavation, coal and sand were found at the foundation of the Kasthamandap. The foundation soil, coal, and sand were taken to the University of Stirling, Scotland for carbon and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) tests. Following a nearly 7-month-long lab test, the result proved that the Kasthamandap Temple was built in the 7th century, said Ram Kunwar, spokesperson at the Department of Archeology (DoA).
Senior archaeologist Kosh Prasad Acharya, who was involved in the team led by experts from Durham University, said that the result of the lab test of the coal found during the excavation proved that it was 2,200 years old, and it was a farming land before the construction of the Kasthamandap.
The team is now carrying out excavation works of the Kasthamandap with the financial and technological support of the National Geographic Society and Art and Humanities Research Council.
It is said that the Kasthamandap was built from the timber of a single tree. Scientific tests of the sample wood are also being conducted to see if this is the case.
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