KATHMANDU: Tilaurakot, which is recognized as the capital city of the ancient Shakya kingdom by many scholars, is likely to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site after an on-site visit by a team of the UN’s specialized agency, which aims to promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.

Tilaurakot, where Prince Siddhartha Gautam spent his early life, was rediscovered in 1899 by P.C. Mukherji. It is situated 29 kilometres west of Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.    

According to the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), a team of UNESCO is arriving in Nepal in upcoming August for the on-site study of the strategic nomination document of Tilaurakot, prepared by the trust.

Member-Secretary of the trust, Sanuraja Shakya expressed his confidence that Tilaurakot would be enlisted in the World Heritage Sites by coming November.

The Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) had earlier prepared and submitted the final draft of nomination for enlisting Tilaurakot, Kapilvastu in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.    

After receiving the document, Nepal’s Ambassador to France, Sudheer Bhattarai, who is also Nepal's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, last year handed over the nomination document to the representative of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.   

The process to enlist the archeological site to the World Heritage Sites was taken forward in accordance with the government's annual policies and plans for the last and current fiscal years, Member Secretary Shakya told the state-owned RSS.    

The UNESCO had put the archaeological site, Tilaurakot, in the list of possible world heritage site in 1996.