The Archaeological Survey of India has planned to preserve boulders and other damaged stones available at Kodumbalur Moovar Kovil near Viralimalai.
The site has three temples of which two are intact while the third temple has been dilapidated. Broken boulders and other stones are strewn all around the area and the ASI has planned to collect all these pieces of stones. The work aims at conservation of the available materials and it is planned to be taken up in course of time, said K. Lourdesamy, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai.
He said he had inspected the site which was beautified a few months ago. A lawn, spread over three cents, had been developed in the campus of the temple. The ASI has set up iron fence around the area to ensure safety of this ancient monument. It has set up a board describing the importance of the monument. Security personnel have been deployed in the area. R. Raja Mohamed, former Curator of the Government Museum, says that the temple was popular among historians as ‘Moovar Kovil’ in the later period . The temples, all dedicated to Lord Siva, have limited number of inscriptions and one in Sanskrit; they trace the contribution of the Velir dynasty, who had matrimonial alliance with the early Chola period of the 10-th century.
“The temple testifies to the early Chola architecture in art and architecture,” he said.
