11th-century Chalukya era sculptures found in Gadag district

 Sculptures  and inscriptions dating back to 11th century have been unearthed at a heritage site in Lakkundi of Gadag district.
Idols and sculptures unearthed at Lakkundi in Gadag district on Sunday
Idols and sculptures unearthed at Lakkundi in Gadag district on Sunday

LAKKUNDI , GADA :  Sculptures  and inscriptions dating back to 11th century have been unearthed at a heritage site in Lakkundi of Gadag district. Jain sculptures belonging to Kalyani Chalukya-era were found when workers were digging earth to lay the foundation for a toilet on Sunday evening.

Lakkundi, the historic village located 12 km from Gadag, is known for heritage structures and step wells, also known as kalyanis. The area where the sculptures and inscriptions are found is located near Naganath temple. The findings include sculptures of Yaksha and Saraswati, Tirthankaras idols, three unclear inscriptions and many broken sculptures. Somanayak Bilekudari, who has been constructing a house near Naganath temple for the last three months, said his labourers told him about finding a stone, which looked like a part of temple. ‘Then we slowly cleared the mud and found sculptures one after another.

We informed the officials and more number of idols were discovered after that,” he said. “We found sculptures at a depth of six-feet and immediately informed the Archaeological Department. We are from Lakkundi. Hence, we know the value of each and every sculpture. Many sculptures and inscriptions are hidden beneath Lakkundi,” he added. After hearing the news about finding old sculptures, several people from surrounding villages and Gadag city started thronging the spot.

Assistant Archaeologist Prasannakumar from Dharwad Archaeology Survey of India and B Pramod of Gadag Archaeological Department visited Lakkundi and examined sculptures and took them into their custody. Speaking to TNIE, Pramod Bingi, senior conservation assistant director of Archaeology Department, said, “We got more than 50 broken sculptures and three inscriptions. Most of them belong to Jainism and they may be belonged to Kalyani Chalukya reign.

We are examining all in detail and it will take about a week to examine them by history experts.” The history lovers from Gadag are demanding a systematic excavation in Lakkundi. “Earlier the place had layers of fort, which are now missing. A road has come up in between the heritage structures, causing threat to the monuments, which are thousands of year old,” said a social worker from Gadag.

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