THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A cellar was discovered at the construction site for the new range office for the excise department at Amaravila in Thiruvananthapuram the other day. The new office is being built after demolishing the old building.
“A small cellar structure was found when the ground was cleared for basement work. The cellar is located close to the shed that served as a parking lot. Staffers were clueless of the structure. We contacted some seniors, but they too were unaware of it,” said an officer.
The discovery led to the spread of rumours among local people that the structure was constructed during the princely rule in the erstwhile Travancore. The site is located near the road leading to Padmanabhapuram in Tamil Nadu, the former palace of the erstwhile Travancore royal family. However, some others claim that the structure would have been built by the department decades ago. According to them, it was used to store confiscated spirits. The rumours would probably end with the site visit and examination by archaeology experts.
“We came across media reports on the cellar. Our technical team will visit the spot. They will identify the structure’s age,” E Dinesan, director of the archaeology department told TNIE.