Count the evidence. Protect the relics.
From sealed stūpa chambers to modern custody: tooth relics traced, graded, and safeguarded.
A research registry for the world’s most contested relic tradition.
How many “Buddha tooth relics” can be traced to documented relic deposits—rather than later tradition alone?
Buddha Relics and Stupa Deposits answers that question with a research registry that separates material description from religious attribution, explicitly distinguishing “TOOTH (material)” from “TOOTH (Buddha) (claim)” and coding tooth-like corporeal remains as RelicMaterial = MAT-TOOTH.
Across the registry tables presented in this volume, at least 31 stūpa-site records explicitly list tooth/teeth relic material (tooth relics, tooth-like remains, or teeth fragments). The book highlights cases where a tooth relic is listed together with excavation history and a recorded reliquary—such as Ahin Posh Stupa (“5 Tooth relics,” reliquary noted as sealed in the British Museum) and Bimaran Stupa No. 2 (“Tooth and bone fragments,” with the relic material noted as lost)—demonstrating how even strong deposit records can later degrade into claim-only situations through loss or dispersal.
The result is not devotional repetition, but auditable heritage scholarship: evidence grading, documentation-gap logging, custody-regime fields, and ethical recording standards designed to prevent harm while preserving truth. The book also addresses the modern reality that scientific testing of bone/tooth relics can carry ethical and conservation risks when destructive sampling is required.
Abstract
Buddha Relics and Stupa Deposits
The Archaeology of Reliquaries, Coins, and Contextual Evidence across Buddhist Stupa Sites
This volume presents a structured research registry of Buddhist stūpas with relic deposits, designed to unify scattered excavation reports, museum catalogues, and contextual indicators (including reliquaries, inscriptions, and coins) into a comparative evidence base. A central methodological contribution is the strict separation of material identification from religious attribution, explicitly distinguishing “tooth (material)” from “tooth (Buddha) (claim),” and encoding tooth-like corporeal remains using controlled terminology (e.g., RelicMaterial = MAT-TOOTH).
Focusing on Buddha tooth relic traditions, the study demonstrates how tooth relics operate simultaneously as corporeal evidence, curated objects, and—especially in Sri Lanka—powerful instruments of public ritual and governance. The registry framework therefore records not only deposit attributes (sealed context, container chains, reliquary presence), but also custody regimes and claim-strength fields that allow analysis without collapsing “deposit evidence” into later belief.
Empirically, the registry tables in this volume contain at least 31 stūpa-site records that explicitly report tooth/teeth relic material. Highlighted cases show the full spectrum from strong deposit linkage to later uncertainty—e.g., Ahin Posh Stupa’s entry listing “5 Tooth relics” with a sealed reliquary record, versus cases where relic material is reported lost despite surviving containers. The book further addresses the limits of verification: scientific testing of bone/tooth relics can entail serious ethical and conservation challenges when destructive sampling is required.
Finally, the work situates present-day preservation within transparent, accountable stewardship: parallel “claim” and “evidence” tracks, restricted-access documentation, and ethical handling standards intended to avoid conflict or harm while maintaining truthful record-keeping.
Keywords: Buddhist archaeology; stūpa deposits; reliquaries; tooth relics; evidence grading; custody regimes; museum documentation; heritage ethics.
Present-date relic preservation emphasis
Truthful record-keeping as preservation: guardianship entails a duty to document the fate and custody of sacred objects.
Evidence-safe cataloguing: preserve “as written” descriptions while separately storing the controlled interpretation layer (e.g., tooth material vs Buddha-tooth claim).
Ethical handling standard: relic care is framed as requiring transparent, fair, lawful practice and avoidance of harm; the registry stores claim-track and evidence-track in parallel.
Custody realities captured as data: restricted access, nested casket chains, and public ritual contexts are recorded rather than assumed away.
Author
Sao Dhammasami
Bhikkhu Indasoma Siridantamahāpalaka (Pen Name)
ORCID: 0009-0000-0697-4760
Title: Custodian (Siridantamahāpalaka) of the Buddha Tooth Relics
Affiliation: Founder and Director, Hswagata Buddha Tooth Relics Preservation Private Museum
Office: The Office of Siridantamahāpalaka
Expertise: Specially trained in Buddhist archaeology and the historical tracking of tooth relics through the stūpa research registry; integrates archaeological charts with travel accounts and museum records to support preservation for study and veneration.
.jpeg)
