Gold Coin Cache Discovered in South India

CHENNAI, INDIA—Daiji World reports that workers restoring a Shiva temple near the Javvadu Hills in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu discovered 103 gold coins dated to the Chola period, which spanned the ninth through the thirteenth centuries A.D. The coins had been neatly stacked in a pot and buried beneath the temple floor. The temple is thought to have been built during the reign of King Rajaraja Cholan III, between 1216 and 1246. Temple wealth flourished during the late Chola period, when gold-based trade networks were active across South India, according to researchers from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. Officials from this department are now collaborating with archaeologists to study the coins. To read more about the Chola Empire, go to "Tamil Royal Palace."