Underwater ancient city, temple wall uncovered by tsunami

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     Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST  Feb. 18, 2005

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Archaeologists have begun underwater excavations of what is believed to be an ancient
city and parts of a temple uncovered by the tsunami off the coast of a centuries-old
pilgrimage town.

Three rocky structures with elaborate carvings of animals have emerged near the
coastal town of Mahabalipuram, battered by the Dec. 26 Asian tsunami. As the
tsunami's waves receded, the force removed sand deposits that had covered the
structures, which appear to belong to a port city built in the seventh century, said
T. Satyamurthy, a senior archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of India.

Mahabalipuram is already famous for ancient, intricately carved shore temples which
have been declared a World Heritage site and are visited each year by thousands of
Hindu pilgrims and tourists. According to descriptions by early British travel
writers, the area was also home to seven pagodas, six of which were submerged by the
sea.

The government-run archaeological society and navy divers began underwater
excavations of the area on Thursday.

"The tsunami has exposed a bas relief which appears to be part of a temple wall or a
portion of the ancient port city. Our excavations will throw more light on these,"
Satyamurthy told The Associated Press by telephone from Madras, the capital of Tamil
Nadu state.

The two-meter (six-foot) rocky structures that have emerged in Mahabalipuram, 50
kilometers (30 miles) south of Madras, include an elaborately carved head of an
elephant and a horse in flight. Above the elephant's head is a small square-shaped
niche with a carved statue of a deity. Another structure uncovered by the tsunami has
a reclining lion sculpted on it.

According to archaeologists, lions, elephants and peacocks were common motifs used to
decorate walls and temples during the Pallava period in the seventh and eighth
centuries.

"These structures could be part of the legendary seven pagodas. With the waters
receding and the coastline changing, we expect some more edifices to be exposed,"
Satyamurthy said.

At least 99 people were killed by the tsunami in Mahabalipuram and surrounding
villages, and dozens of tourist shops near the temples were destroyed.

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