Rayagada: Scores of ruined stone sculptures, believed to have connections with Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism and
dating back to the 7th century AD were discovered Thursday inside a dense forest in Hatikhamba area of Mukundpur panchayat under Kolnara block of Rayagada district.
Collector Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar, sub-collector Prabir Nayak, Kolnara additional block development officer A Gopal Rao and district information and public relations officer Basant Kumar Pradhan along with a group of media persons visited the site. The place is not far away from the Rayagada-Bhubaneswar state highway via Padmapur, it was learnt.
The buried ruins with engraved symbolic work of art and idols of deities seem to be part of an advanced and ancient civilization, said the officials. They feared that many idols might have been stolen from the spot.
The large size of stone
engravings indicates that they were mixed the architecture of Jainism and Buddhism, observed the visiting team.
Meanwhile, the Collector asked the officials to shift the structures to the district Sanskruti Bhawan to help historians in their research work.
She also visited the remains of an ancient shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva inside the nursery of the forest department.
Locals, after learning about the government’s plan to shift the idols to the Sanskruti Bhawan, pressed for construction of a new temple inside the nursery. The Collector has assured to look into their demands.
PNN