Brill's Indological Library63 the Archaeology of Buddhism in Maldives

Before the 12th century the Maldives was a Buddhist society with stone-built monasteries. Excavations of one on Kaashidhoo reveals the importance of cowrie shells for the islands’ prosperity and offers a fresh model for the Maldives’ conversion to Islam. Part of a Buddhist monastery dating to A.D. 200–1500 was excavated between 1996 and 1998 on the island of Kaashidhoo in the Maldives, uncovering extensive ruins and human graves. This book compares the findings with those from monasteries elsewhere in Asia, investigating the spread of cowrie shells, Chinese stoneware and South Asian earthenware. It documents all known Buddhist sites, sculptures and artefacts in the Maldives, presenting new evidence of Buddhist life, religious behaviour, funerary practice, faunal history and trading networks. The book offers a fresh interpretation of the conversion from Buddhism to Islam in the Maldives.