just like the article said, i thought buddha was born in 6th century BC all along. (im sri lankan btw)
our history says the date of passing away of buddha coincided with the date of arrival of this aryan prince vijaya in sri lanka. legend says buddha just before passing away, told a god to protect our country where buddhism will remain secured for 5000yrs, and told him to protect this prince who was on his way by then, as he would start the monarch here which will establish buddhism very strongly in future. that actually happened during the time of emperor asoka in india.
our historical records say prince vijaya arrived here in 543BC, and since buddha lived 80yrs his birthdate has to fall in 623BC. i didn't even know they believed it to be in 4th century. thanks for sharing jamieD