Durham awarded its first ever UNESCO Chair

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Durham awarded its first ever UNESCO Chair Durham University has established the first ever UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage. It is the thirteenth UNESCO Chair to be created in the UK, and Durham's first. The chairholder will be the UK's leading South Asian archaeologist, Professor Robin Coningham , who came to worldwide public attention last year when he made a ground-breaking discovery about the date of the Buddha's birth that has the potential to rewrite the history of Buddhism. Robin Coningham, professor of Archaeology and Pro-Vice Chancellor at Durham University, led a team of archaeologists on an expedition to Nepal where they discovered a tree shrine at Lumbini that predates all known Buddhist sites by at least 300 years.