Bhubaneswar: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found several temple materials including sculptures and panels during excavation in Old Town in the city.
During its excavation behind the Bhabani Shankar temple on the Sari Deula complex, an ancient sculpture of Lord Vishnu, an inscription, fragments of a metal container and a decorative panel were unearthed.
While the buried temple is of Khakara style (as evident from its roof design and features), the Vishnu image is being considered one of the earliest in Odisha and the decorative panel shows a holy bathing scene of either a king or a priest, TNIE quoted ASI Superintending Archaeologist (Bhubaneswar circle) Arun Malik as saying.
The buried temple dates back to the early group of temples like Vaitaal, Parsurameswar, Paramguru and Sishireswar. The ASI is currently excavating the east direction of Sari Deula where remains of a temple were buried in debris and vegetation. The buried temple is a ‘jagamohan’ and it is facing south towards Bindusagar. Since the roof is flat, it could have been built in Khakara style, Malik said.
Th excavations around the Sari Deula since the last one year have revealed seven temples including the buried one so far. Five bases of temples have been excavated in all corners of Sari Deula proving that the monument was built on the Panchayatan model, the archaeologist said.
