8th-Century A.D. Rock-Cut Temple Revealed in India

TAMIL NADU, INDIA—The New Indian Express reports that three chambers have been found cut into the limestone banks of the Arjuna River in southern India. Archaeologists suggest that the rooms, which had been covered with debris and heavy plant growth, were built as a temple some 1,200 years ago. Cement on the walls and ceiling of the structure may have been applied about 100 years ago in an attempt to repair holes and cracks in the limestone. C. Santhalingam of the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department said the temple probably lacks decoration beyond niches placed on either side of the entrance to the temple’s inner sanctum because of the poor quality of the limestone. A stone naga statue within the inner sanctum is thought to have been placed there at the time of the repairs. To read about another temple discovered in Tamil Nadu, go to "India's Temple Island."