GUNTUR: A rare sculpture with 624 ‘nagas’ carved on a single slab has been found at Velpuru in Krosur mandal of Guntur district. Based on the information provided by the locals, archaeologists rushed to the spot on Wednesday and examined it thoroughly. They said the broken slab was found lying upside down on an ant hill mound, and that it was shifted and erected on the north-eastern corner of the Ramesvara temple some time ago.
The granite slab, measuring 2’-0 x 6’-0 x 0’-4’’, has 24 rows on its front side, with 26 ‘nagas’ carved in each row. The archaeologists surmised that 576 similar carvings are present on the broken part of the slab that was yet to be located. They said that the sculpture had a lot of archaeological significance as it was found in Velpuru, where 35 inscriptions of Vishnukundin, Vengi Chalukya, Velanati Chola, Kakatiya, Reddy, Vijayanagara and Gajapati rulers were discovered.
They made an appeal to the local community to safeguard the rare sculpture and requested the Tourism department to operate ‘Naga tourist circuit’, connecting Durga Nageswara temple, Pedakallepalli and Subbarayudu temples at Mopidevi of Krishna district with the sculpture found in Velupuru.