Archaeologists dig to find 'India's oldest temple' in Madhya Pradesh
The excavation is underway in Nachne village of Madhya Pradesh where the experts have zeroed in on two mounds.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is excavating a site in Madhya Pradesh, hoping to find India's oldest temple. The digging is underway in Nachne village where the experts have zeroed in on two mounds. The excavation sites are just 30 metres away from two ancient temples- a Gupta-era Parvati temple- and close to Chaumukhi temple, built by the Kalachuri Dynasty.
"We are carrying out this excavation with the objective of finding the oldest temple in India," ASI superintending archaeologist(Jabalpur circle) Shiva Kant Bajpayee told The Times of India. He added that the excavation work began on March 4 and would take 3-4 months to complete.
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Bajpayee informed that the oldest known temples in India are from the Gupta era (4th to early 6th century CE). He added that a majority of the earliest known temples of the country are in Madhya Pradesh- Temple No. 17 in Sanchi, the Nachne Parvati temple, Tigwa's Vishnu Temple and Bhumara's Shiva Temple. The excavation team hopes to find pre-Gupta-era temples.
"If we are not able to find it here, we will continue our exploration in the area as it cannot be that only Gupta-era temples exist. There can be temples older than that," said Bajpayee.
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As per The Times of India report, the site has eight archaeological mounds. The excavation team has got permission to dig two mounds. Both mounds are nearly two metres in height and spread over 1000 sqm.
