GORAKHPUR, Oct. 8 -- An earthen pot containing hundreds of coins, believed to be at least 1,700 years old, was discovered near a Buddhist stupa in the Maharajganj district on Tuesday, officials said.

The discovery was made by workers, who were digging as part of a construction activity at the site located in Devdaha village in the district's Laxmipur block.

The excavation site lies within a known heritage zone where several ancient Buddhist relics have been found previously. The pot, with the coins, weighed at 36.4 kilograms, archaeologists said, adding that the coins could date back to the Kushan period (30-375 CE).

Regional archaeology officer Krishna Mohan Dwivedi said, "The coins appear to be from the Kushan era. They are made of a...