Telangana The heritage department of Hyderabad was excavating a temple at Phanigiri, a Buddhist heritage site located 110 km from the capital Hyderabad. While the excavation was going on, strange knocking sounds started coming from the ground and the heart rate of the people doing the excavation started increasing and their hands started to stop. In the last week of March 2024, the Heritage Department started taking extra precautions in the excavation so that the thing buried below is not damaged.
Excavation Director N. Sagar and co-excavator B. The team working in Suryapet district of Telangana under the leadership of Mallu found a big earthen pot from the ground on 29 March 2024. Seeing what came out of this, everyone’s eyes sparkled. Telangana Archeology Department Principal Secretary Lata Shailaja Ramaiah and Heritage Department Director Bharati Hollikeri, after visiting the excavation site, said that thousands of coins have been found in the earthen pots found by the excavators. This clay pot was 16.7 cm in diameter and 15 cm in height.
How did we know that the coins are from Ikshvaku period?
The number of these coins made of lead is 3,730. There is a symbol of an elephant on one side of it. On the other side, the symbol of Ujjain is mentioned. Stratigraphic and typological studies revealed that these coins belong to the Ikshvaku period. The average weight of each coin found from an earthen pot is 2.3 grams. The mouth of the vessel was closed from outside with a lid. Inside was the broken base of a bowl. Let us tell you that Lord Ram belonged to the Ikshvaku dynasty. Apart from coins, many other valuable cultural remains have also been found from the excavation site.
Coins made of lead have been found in the excavation of this Buddhist heritage site in Phanigiri village of Telangana.
How did this place get its name Phanigiri?
During the excavation, the excavation team also found stone and glass beads, fragments of conch shell bangles, plaster figures, broken limestone statues, toy car wheels. The team also found many other valuable cultural and structural remains including iron nails and pottery. The place where the heritage department has found this treasure of Ikshvaku period, Phanigiri village was named because of the shape of the hill. This hill looks like the hood of a snake. In Sanskrit, Phani means snake and Giri means hill.
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8th phase excavation was going on at the site
Studies show that there was village life from 1000 BC to 18th century AD. Phanigiri is believed to be one of the important Buddhist monasteries strategically located on a hilltop on the ancient trade route connecting the west and east coast of the Deccan. According to the heritage department, the field season 2023-24 was the eighth round of excavation at the site, which was started in 2001. According to the department, in different stages of earlier excavation, things like Mahastupa, semicircular Chaityagriha, Mannat Stupa, pillared congregation hall, Vihar were found here.
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To which period do the materials found in the excavation belong?
Apart from this, the team also found platforms with stairs on several levels. Apart from this, octagonal stupa chaitya, 24-pillared mandapam, circular chaitya and cultural materials have been found here. The department said that terracotta beads, semi-precious beads, iron objects, Brahmi label inscriptions and sacred relic caskets have also been found in the excavation of this site. According to the director of the department, all the cultural material found in the excavation can be from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.
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Tags: Archaeological Survey of India, asi, Lord Ram, Telangana
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 9, 2024, 21:00 IST