Over 500 unused war rockets, said to belong to the time of Tipu Sultan, were found during a field excavation, conducted by Department of Archeology, Museums and Heritage, in Nagara village in Hosanagar taluk on Wednesday.
In 2002, 102 unused war rockets dumped in an open well on land owned by Nagaraja Rao in Nagara were found.
The archaeologists then opined that the rockets belong to the 18th century.
On Wednesday, the department conducted a field excavation at the same site.
The mound formed from accumulation of the silt, which was removed from the open well in 2002, was excavated by workers from the department during which the unused rockets were found.
R. Shejeshwara, Assistant director of the Department, told The Hindu that Nagara, then called Bidanooru, was an important administrative centre of Mysore State and Tipu Sultan had even established a mint and an armoury here. Tipu Sultan had used rockets in the wars against the British East India Company.
Based on these facts, the historians have come to the conclusion that the unused war rockets belong to the time of Tipu Sultan. He said that, like the earlier rockets, those found on Wednesday also are iron-cased with black powder, a mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate filled inside.
Each unused rocket is of 7 to 10 inches in length and 1 to 3 metre in diameter and they have become corroded.
The excavation will continue till Friday, he added.
