Remnant of Buddha's horse Kantakasaily excavated

Machilipatnam, Sep 2: Remnants of a white marble statue of Buddha's horse Kantakasaily have been discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) during recent excavations at Ghantasala, the famous Buddhist centre.

An official spokesperson of the ASI said here today, the remnant had been kept in the ASI's new museum at Ghantasala, which was yet to be opened to the public.

Further excavations were going on at the spot.

He said a recently excavated Buddhist site at Phanigiri in Nalgonda district had yielded a number of early Brahmi inscriptions.

One of them, found on a stone loosened during excavation, could be dated back to the third Century AD.

The marine archaeology wing of the ASI was carrying out offshore and onshore excavations at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.

Underwater investigations conducted near submerged rocks in six to eight meter depth brought to light human activities in the form of geometric cuttings on the rocks and stones.

He added that further investigations to the north of the shore temple revealed submerged structures and carved architectural structures of archaeological interest. The remains of two structural temples were also unearthed to the south of the shore temple.

excavated remains and submerged structural remains suggested change in sea level fluctuation over the course of time, he added.

UNI