MAYILADUTHURAI: Days after an array of artefacts amounting to crores of rupees were unearthed from the Shri Sattainathar Temple in Sirkazhi during an excavation ahead of a consecration festival, a two-tier police security arrangement was set in place on Thursday as the unearthed artefacts have been stored in a strong room in the temple.
The items found on the south of the temple included 22 Panchaloha idols, 55 pedestals, 462 copper plates with inscriptions of songs by Shaivite saints and other miscellaneous items. Earlier, a team of archaeologists from the HR&CE department inspected the artefacts on Monday.
The state archaeological department is also set to conduct studies on the copper plates with inscriptions of Thevaram and other hymns. According to the temple administration, the idols and copper plates were buried in the millennium-old Shri Sattainathar Temple to guard them against invasions during the 13th century. The Dharmapuram Aadheenam mutt administers the temple.
Meanwhile, sources said hundreds of thousands of devotees are expected to throng the temple on the occasion of the consecration festival, which is set to be organised after a hiatus of three decades, on May 20. Patronage works ahead of the festival are underway in the temple.