An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team on Wednesday, October 27, unearthed the remains of an ancient temple. The temple is said to be a 10th-century shrine. The remains were revealed during an excavation work adjacent to the Suka Sari temple near Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar.
According to ASI officials, the shrine could be older than the Lingaraj Temple.
Talking to India Today, Odisha circle ASI chief Arun Mallick said that the remains of the ancient temple probably belong to the 10th century. “They were found 8-9 feet below the ground and seem to be older than the Lingaraj Temple. About 50 years ago, a Sanskrit college stood at the place where the remains of this ancient temple were found. We can also see the remains of blackboards,” he said
Mallick said that due to encroachment and illegal construction in the area, many temples between the Suka Sari temple complex to the Bindusagar lake have been buried under the ground. They are being continuously excavated. “Work had to be stopped for some time due to the pandemic, but now the excavation has started again. For the preservation and excavation of ancient temples, we have been getting the cooperation of the central and state governments,” he said.
According to Mallick, during the beautification of the Ekmara complex by the Odisha government, they found the remains of many ancient temples. “Since then, we have been continuously excavating the Ekmara area complex and bringing up the remains of ancient temples. So far, we have made public the infrastructure and structure of three to four temples within a year,” he said.
In January this year, ASI had unearthed a stone structure presumed to be the remains of an ancient temple during an excavation near Shree Lingaraj Temple. The ASI then came across another stone structure engraved with arts while undertaking the excavation drive being done under the Ekamra Kshetra Heritage Project for beautification of the Lingaraj Temple and its surroundings.
The team found portions of the wall had beautifully engraved statues of dancers, probably of the temple that was earlier buried under the campus of the demolished Sanskrit college.
The Odisha ASI chief further said that the excavation work is done by the ASI largely during September, October, and November as the weather is conducive
