Rock-cut cave discovered in city

A rock-cut cave has been discovered in the Kalipur Kadamtal area of the city’s Greater Umachal area. The cave is facing the Brahmaputra. 

The newly discovered cave at Kalipur in Guwahati [Credit: The Assam Tribune]

According to Dr HN Dutta, Director of the State Archaeology Department, the cave has some carvings of the nature of floral decoration. Director Dutta, along with Deputy Director (Exploration and Excavation) Ranjana Sarma and exploration officer Chabina Hassan, inspected the cave today. 

Dutta said that the Umachal Rock Inscription of Mahendravarman datable to 400-500 AD, which is located nearby, refers to the construction of a cave temple for Balabhadraswami. It has to be confirmed if this cave temple could be assigned to that structure, Dutta said. 

Ranjana Sarma said that the cave has some geometrical lines drawn inside it. Rock-cut niches meant for some purposes, have also been noticed in the cave. The interior area of the cave measures 6.26 metres×5.02 metres with a height of 1.48 metres in its central region. 

She said that findings inside the cave include two pieces of a broken stone bowl, measuring 16.5 cm in diameter, with a 50 cm circumference and a thickness of .5cm. A stone slab found inside the cave measures 168×29×107 cm with floral carving on its vertical border. 

The antique found inside the cave with floral carving measures 76×73×16 cm. A sherd of a thick terracotta storage container is also found inside the cave, Sarma said. 

Source: The Assam Tribune [February 11, 2012]