Potter sheds, kilns and stupas?

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

In a message dated 97-11-06 11:42:23 EST, pclaus at HAYWIRE.CSUHAYWARD.EDU
writes:

<< Does anyone on the LIST know anything about
 the origin of stupas from the archeological record?
 Any references? >>

A. L. Basham in "The Wonder That Was India" (p.349), says, "The stUpa began
as an earthern burial mound, which was revered by the local population, and
we have seen that the cult of stUpa was taken up by Buddhism, and that azoka
raised stUpas in the Buddha's honour all over India (p.263). Only one stUpa,
in nepAl, survives in the form in which the great emperor left it, but
excavations of existing stUpas have shown the character of the earlier ones.
They were large hemispherical domes, containing a central chamber, in which
the relics of the Buddha were placed in a small casket, often beautifully
carved in crystal. The core of the stUpa was of unburnt brick, and the outer
face of burnt brick, covered with a thick layer of plaster. The stUpa was
crowned by an umbrella of wood or stone, and was surrounded by a wooden fence
enclosing a path for the ceremonial clockwise circumambulation (pradakSiNA),
which was the chief form of reverence paid to the relics within it."

Regards

S. Palaniappan