BHUBANESWAR: As archaeologists continue to scan the Suka-Sari temple complex, more and more remains of ancient temples that have been buried since ages are coming to the fore.
A new structure, believed to be the base of a temple, has been dug out in an area behind the Sari Deula by the ASI, Bhubaneswar circle, on Thursday.
Archaeologists informed that the base of a temple with conical mouldings have been exposed during scientific cleaning in the south-east corner of the Sari temple.
The portion of the base which was exposed on the day measures 2.5 metre in length and is at a depth of 80 cm from the ground level. Some fallen stones of the structure have also been found from the spot.
“Further excavation will reveal how many conical mouldings of the temple exist and what lies beneath the base. Odishan style of temples have five kinds of base mouldings - Khura, Kumbha, Pata, Kani, Basanta. The moulding that has been completely exposed is one among them”, said an archaeologist working on the site.
Scientific cleaning of the Suka-Sari temple complex has been continuing for over a fortnight after mutts and private structures on the two acre land were razed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.
The ASI has been excavating the north east and north west corners of the Sari Deula and dug out the floor of a temple, remains of a Shiva temple, early-medieval pottery remains (red and gray ware) and laterite blocks from both the directions.
The Sari Deula is a west-facing temple. While archaeologists earlier believed that it was built on the Panchayatan model (having four subsidiary shrines in all directions), the recent findings are a pointer to the fact that more shrines existed in the temple complex, albeit smaller in size compared to Sari Deula.