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The Piprahwa stupa relics and gems, excavated in 1898 and, per its own description, holding reliquaries whose inscription would make the deposit "one of the earliest material references to the Buddha," carry three contested facts. Read individually, they reduce to two findings rather than three.

One Uncertainty, Stated as Two Candidate Dates

Two date-attributed facts share one identical note, "Script-based dating spans pre-Ashokan to post-Ashokan; original date not fixed," and give the two ends of that uncertainty as its two values: "Deposit dated to the Mauryan-Shunga period (3rd-2nd century BCE)" against "Original interment claimed 5th century BCE." This is one open question, how old the deposit is, told as its own two boundary candidates rather than two independent claims.

A Separate Question: What the Writing Says

The third fact does not ask when the deposit was made; it asks what the inscription on it means. "Grammatical reading and attribution to Gautama Buddha contested since 1898" is the note on a "Brahmi reliquary inscription read as recording the Sakya clan share of the Buddha's relics." A reliquary can be securely dated and still have its own inscription read two different ways, or dated uncertainly and still have its inscription's grammar debated on its own terms. The two disputes do not depend on each other.

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• Piprahwa Stupa Relics and GemsBuddhist RelicsThree contested facts reduce to two findings: how old the deposit is, and what its inscription actually claims