Chennai: Rare sculptures, inscriptions found atop Rockfort hill 

In a breakthrough, a team of archaeologists last week found inscriptions and sculptures of saints on the way to the Ucchi Pillayar Temple atop the Rockfort Hill in Tiruchy.

CHENNAI: In a breakthrough, a team of archaeologists last week found inscriptions and sculptures of saints on the way to the Ucchi Pillayar Temple atop the Rockfort Hill in Tiruchy.The sculptures that date back to the early 5th century CE were found sculpted using the ‘bas relief’ technique, which retains the natural contours of the figures and allows the work to be viewed from many angles without distortion of the figures themselves.

The Tiruchy hillock is already famous for the Ucchi Pillayar Temple, Thayumanavar temple, the rock-cut temples of Pallava king Mahendravarman and the Pandya lower rock-cut cave temple. Several inscriptions that date back to as early as 3rd to 7th century CE  have already been excavated, said Professor S Rajavelu, Department of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur, who was engaged in the work with a team of five archaeologists.

A bas relief sculpture of a saint atop the
Rockfort Hill in Tiruchy | Express

“These sculptures are rare. For many years, archaeologists combed through the hill searching for evidences of saints who meditated and wrote scriptures. Yet, these sculptures have not been found for many years as there are houses on the hill,” said Parthipan, one of the team members. The houses, which were built before the Archaeology Survey of India was set up, were not demolished owing to their ancestral sentiments. But in order to save the remaining inscriptions, the residents of the area have been asked to seek permission from the government before expanding their houses, said Prof Rajavelu.

According to Rajavelu, the hill is famous for its epigraphical wealth with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions and some label inscriptions of 5th or 6th century CE. Some inscriptions were earlier unearthed by the Archaeological Survey of India and I Mahadevan, retired IAS officer and Indologist, along with the Rajamanickanar Historical Centre.

“There is a bas relief sculpture of a saint, which is in broken condition with label inscription on the top right side of the sculpture. This sculpture is in an ascetic form and sitting posture in ‘Arthapariyanka Asana’. He is in a ‘dhyana’ posture with two hands placed on his lap. His head is fully shaved. His face is fully broken. As a saint, his elongated long ears are beautifully carved out. Though the saint looks like Buddha, a sacred thread is seen on his body, confirming that he is not Buddha. But the feature of this figure and the label inscription on the right top of this bas relief sculpture clearly indicate that he is a saint who performed dhyana in this place. The saint is flanked by two devotees in standing posture on top and two others at the bottom,” said the professor.

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