Historically important slabs found abandoned by wayside

Unearthed during renovation work at temple

Discarding the past:Granite slabs with carvings of mythical figures unearthed from the premises of the Tali temple found heaped on the wayside at Tali in Kozhikode.— Photo: K. Ragesh

Director of Archaeology G. Prem Kumar on Friday sent an urgent fax message to District Collector C.A. Latha urging her to ensure the immediate stoppage of the renovation work at the centuries-old Tali Siva temple following allegations of ‘callous handling’ of archaeologically important rock carvings unearthed during the work.

“We need to examine the rock carving and assess their archaeological significance,” Dr. Prem Kumar told The Hindu .

Work on replacing the old rock slabs (

Krishnashila ) around the

Chuttambalam of the temple has been progressing for the past few days, under the aegis of the Tali Devaswom. The slabs, according to the temple authorities, were in bad shape and are being replaced with new granite slabs.

Some of the old slabs, which were broken while being removed by unskilled workers, have prominent carvings on one side. These broken pieces with cracked images were found dumped on the wayside adjacent to the temple.

From medieval period

Historian M.G.S. Narayanan said that these carvings, the pictures of which were e-mailed to him by friends, looked like from the medieval period and were definitely of archaeological significance. “The temple authorities are showing sheer callousness in treating them,” said Dr. Narayanan.

He said that any structure which was more than 100 years old would be of archaeological significance. Any part of the Tali Temple, which he said was as old as the city of Kozhikode, with a history of more than 800 years, or more must be of archaeological importance. “The exact age and other features of the carvings can be assessed only after detailed examinations,” he said.

The temple authorities, however, maintained that the pieces of rock carvings might not have any great archaeological significance since they were seen on slabs of rocks used for laying the Chuttambalam , that too on the bottom side of the rocks. “By all chance, they could be abandoned pieces of rocks, left after the demolition of some earlier structures on the premises,” said the temple administrative officer.