Ancient well, Buddha image unearthed

Two ancient wells, a 10 inch high stone image of Buddha along with potteries were unearthed from a field in Badaanko village under Aul block in Kendrapara district on Friday.

Some workers stumbled upon the wells, Buddha image and other artefacts while digging
the earth for a pond under [Credit:MGNREGS/EPS]

Some workers stumbled upon the wells, Buddha image and other artefacts while digging the earth for a pond under MGNREGS. “Efforts are being made to unearth the wells, which are several centuries old, in a perfect manner. The finding suggests that the area was a Buddhist site in the past,” said Basudev Das, a researcher on Kendrapara.

This is not an isolated case of Buddhist artefacts being found in the region. Many believe that the region was the birthplace of Vajrayana, or esoteric Buddhism, which came into existence between the 6th and 7th Century BC, when Hinduism was still facing a threat. But both the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and State Archaeological Department (SAD) have been paying little attention towards little unknown Buddhist sites. “As a result, smugglers are managing to dig up rare artefacts and sell those in international market at a lofty amount,” alleged Das, adding that officials concerned should visit the areas frequently and carry out excavation.

Jeevan Patnaik, Deputy Superintendent of ASI, said in the medieval period, Aul area was a centre of Buddhist civilisation. The changing course of river in Aul areas wiped out ancient sites in the past. “ASI will examine the unearthed objects,” he added.

Source: Indian Express [May 18, 2013]