The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Wednesday discovered the base of another temple on the premises ofSuka-Saritemple in Old Town area of the city. The ASI is planning to excavate towards the north-eastern side of the 10th century temple complex to unearth more of the partially exposed temple.
The ASI recently resumed the excavation and scientific cleaning of the temple complex spread across two acres after a gap of a few months.
Sources said, ancient scriptures mentioned existence of over 1,000 temples in Bhubaneswar during the 15th century for which the capital was named the “Temple City”. But over the years, most of the temples were destroyed due to lack of preservation. At present, only 200 temples are there in the city. Of the total monuments, 23 are being preserved by the ASI and 15 by the state archaeology wing, sources said.
The ASI had alleged serious violation of the conservation and preservation laws over “mindless demolition” on the premises of the ASI-protected sites by agencies for the Ekamra Kshetra project.