Jajpur: The base of an ancient temple and other archaeological remains were discovered by the INTACH team at Purushottampur Sasana village in Odisha’s Jajpur district.
The temple ruins lay scattered in an area of four acres at the base of a small hillock. A large number of huge stone blocks intricately carved stone panels and a few religious sculptures were also found scattered all around the site.
The INTACH Odisha chapter team which explored the ruins of the temple claimed that a large temple complex had crumbled down in the past due to unknown reasons but the base of the temple is still clearly visible.
The team assigned the construction of the temple to around the 13th/14th Century C.E. as the most notable stone panels are the depictions of war processions, musical bands, royal processions, palanquins and elephants.
A source in INTACH said that many beautiful temples of the Kalingan order built during the glorious reigns of the Kings came under the onslaught of attacks from Firoz Shah Tughlaq, Kalapahada and Aurangzeb.
The region of Jajpur witnessed a cultural genocide with the destruction of many temples and mutts. This temple at Purushottampur too must have been destroyed during such attacks, Biswajit Mohanty, a member of the team said.
According to INTACH Project Coordinator Anil Dhir, the presence of many small forts in the vicinity are indicative of a large habitation in the early days. Several archaeological remains from Eastern Ganga’s era have been discovered in the nearby forts of Amaravati, Teligada and Darpanagada.
Dhir said a proper archaeological excavation of the site should be undertaken by experts from the State Archaeology Department or the ASI and the entire 4-acre complex should be declared as a protected monument.
INTACH, he said, will prepare a preliminary report and submit it to the authorities, with a request to conduct a proper survey of the site and the nearby areas.
UNI