Bhubaneswar: Archaeologists have found the remains of yet another ancient temple near Sari Deula in the city.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials said the Yoni Pith (a socket where a ‘Shiva Linga’ is fixed) of a small Shiva temple was found close to the Sari temple during the ongoing scientific clearance work in the area on Saturday.
Notably, some workers engaged in Ekamra Kshetra beautification work had stumbled upon an ancient stone structure last month. The structure lies on the north-west corner of the ornate Sari temple. Two other structures, also believed to be the remains of small shrines, were partially exposed during the beautification drive.
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As for the latest find, archaeologists said the Yoni Pith is at the plinth level of Sari Deula and the Shiva temple’s ‘ratha’ projections and other architectural features can be known after further digging, The New Indian Express reported.
“This spot, which is in the north direction of the Sari temple, appears to be the sanctum sanctorum of a Shiva temple and its pranala (discharge outlet) is also directed towards Bindu Sagar. The Shiva Linga is yet to be found, but we are hopeful of getting it because a large area remains to be excavated,” an ASI official informed.
The official said the Sari temple and remains of the Shiva temple are not of the same age. “The dating of the temple remains can be ascertained only after further cleaning of the site,” he added.
Apart from the temple remains, grey and red ware pottery like rims and bases of early medieval age utensils have been found at the site which has been manually cleaned by the ASI for over a metre.
Earlier, ASI archaeologists said the Sari temple was built on the Panchayatan model where the main temple is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines. They had said there are chances of existence of more smaller temples in the Suka-Sari complex.
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