Superintending Archaeologist, T. Satyamurthy, (ASI), Chennai Circle) who is the director of the excavation at the site, said the brick temple "definitely belongs to the late Tamil Sangam age. There is no doubt that it is 2,000 years old. It is the most ancient temple discovered so far in Tamil Nadu. I can say that with authority."
According to archaeologists, the temple is dedicated to Muruga. An inscription in Tamil on a rock near the excavated site led to the discovery of the temple. The rock, lodged in sand, was exposed fully by the tsunami that struck Mahabalipuram on December 26, 2004.
Frontline gives the rather long story with some nice snaps
BBC focusses on the Tsunami factor in the discovery.
I look forward to more such excavations to fill in the missing links & clear up the air in tamil history...of which not much is documented and easily available.
Why is that we don't get access to the progress made after the excavations. I'm still in the dark as to what happened to this 'oldest temple' in Tamilnadu.
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1 comment:
hi ,
My search on Sangam architecture brought me into ur blog...interesting snippets..keep it up!
have a god day!
http://ashokism.blogspot.com/
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