N G Majumdar on re-examination of the four mounds found that all of them were earthen burial memorials with burnt brick revetments, two being faced with a brick lining in a double tier, so that there was no justification of regarding them as mere earthen barrows. He also pointed out that the golden leaves found by Block had their exact replica in the Stupa at Piprahwa which is definitely a Buddhist Stupa of 300 B.C. or earlier. The respective Lauriya Stupas might be of a comparable date and there is nothing to connect them with Vedic burial rites. The layers of yellow clay which had a share in the building up of the Vedic theory of Bloch, are according to observations of archaeologist Amalananda Ghosh, nothing but mud bricks, husk and straw being a common ingredient in ancient brick.

The Mystery Remains

However, the mounds still remain mysterious to the historian due to the following reasons :-

1.   Low heights of the stupas as compared to their diameters

2.   Discovery of wooden pillars inside the centre of the stupa, which has not been reported from any other stupa site which has not been noticed elsewhere except for the stupa at Piprahwa

3.   Absence of clear affinities with the Buddhist religion

4.   Discovery of bone relics at different depths in the mounds. No casket is found here as opposed to discoveries at Buddhist stupa sites where beads, precious stones etc are found mixed with ash or charcoal.

5.   Discovery of coffins of iron with unusually long skeletons

6.   Discovery of Gold leaf with female figure which has not been noticed elsewhere except for the stupa at Piprahwa

7.   The peculiar position of the mounds in rows in one line does not make clear the significance. Since no habitation site except for the recent marketplace is nearby, it was suggested that the mounds most probably stand in what would once have been a cremation or burial ground or samsana, which is again not in consonance with Buddhist practice.

To be continued...