National Geographic Channel (NGC) is set to premiere its National Geographic Channel Special Bones of the Buddha on May 11. The programme follows renowned historian Charles Allen on his mission to determine the truth behind 1898’s alleged find of Buddha’s remains.

When British colonial estate manager William Peppe, sets workers digging at a mysterious hill on his Birdpore, India, property in 1898, he has no idea what they would find. Over six meters down, they are shocked to find 1,600 individual precious and semi-precious jewels mixed in with fragments of bone and ash, and an inscription in an indecipherable language. Peppe immediately copies the inscription from the urn, and sends it off to the local district officer and archaeologist Dr. Anton Fuhrer. Both believe these could be the remains of the Buddha himself.

Bones of the Buddha, produced by Icon Films for the National Geographic Channel, is executive produced by Harry Marshall of Icons Films in co-production with NGCI’s Hamish Mykura, Executive Vice President and Head of International Content.