Ancient idol unearthed in Tenali

In a significant discovery, an ancient idol was unearthed in Mukkollupadu village of Tenali in Krishna district on Sunday. The idol is believed to be dating back to somewhere between the second and sixth centuries and it was found while members of a team from the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada were exploring the village in order to develop it as part of the ‘Smart Villages’ project.

The idol that was unearthed in Mukkollupadu village 
on Sunday [Credit: DC]

Mukkollupadu has been adopted by Vijayawada police commissioner A.B. Venkateswara Rao, who had asked SPA director N. Sridharan to help him develop the village. “I have been working in the village since the past several days to develop it for the police commissioner and found there are many ancient remains in the area. On Sunday, we found the remains of an idol believed to from the Buddhist era,” Dr Sridharan told DC.

“Many more such remains can be found in the area. We have also found similar items in Mullapadu village of Tenali. We are planning to collect all such ancient items and set up museums in villages of the capital region initially and later bring them under a single roof for the world to appreciate,” the SPA director said.

Mr Venkateswara Rao had a couple of months ago adopted Mukkollupadu, which is his native village, and had been to village several times. Dr Sridharan had been exploring the village and had found the remains of the idol at Aalligattu.

The SPA team also found rocks on hills under which the dead were placed during the period. Locals believe that the idol was of a goddess. However it could not be recognized as the head, torso and limbs were separated.

Mr Venkateswara Rao said that he would ensure that the archaeology department examines it further and find out if a local museum could be set up with more ancient items.

Source: Deccan Chronicle [July 06, 2015]