Over 14 bronze icons, primarily from the Chola period, were excavated at a construction site here in Velankanni on Tuesday.
Several bronze worship artefacts along with a few chipped-off weapons from icons were also found at a depth of about 4.5 feet to 6 feet at the site on the way to the Velankanni shrine.
The icons of Somasskandar, Chandrashekhar, Appar, Manikavasagar, Thirugnyanasambandhar, Nirdhanavinayagar, two Pradhoshanayagars, Shivakami Amman, Kalinganardhanar, Murugan, and two other Ammans presumed to be consorts were among the find.
The heavily muddied icons made difficult any primary iconographic study of ornaments or weapons. According to Bala Padhmanaban, Research Scholar, Dr. Rajamanickanar Historical Research Center, it is a mixed find, essentially belonging to the Chola period, as 10 of the 14 icons suggest. Somaskandar points to the later Chozha period, Thiribarandhagar to the middle Chozha period and the small icon of Chandrashekarar, to the 13 century, observed Mr. Padhmanaban. Among the other bronze pieces found were ‘thiruvachi,' ‘saravilaku,' ‘pancharadhi,' and bow and arrows.
