A caches of 85 copper plates and 12 bronze icons have been found in a temple in India.

The copper plates — 45-cm long and 20-cm broad — were strung around a two-foot diameter copper ring and forged with the Chola emblem.

Earlier, 20 copper plates were found in Villupuram, says an official of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments. The emblem with two fishes fringed by a seated tiger to its left and a bow and arrow to its right and an umbrella indicated that the plates belonged to the Cholas.

The bronze icons include Ganapathy, Appar, Manikavasagar, Thirugnyanasambandhar, Rishabandagar with Amman, Sandikeshwarar, Chandrashekarar with Ammam, Karaikal Ammaiyar with a cymbal, Somaskandar (Lord Shiva with his consort and son), and Valli. The find points to the Chola period of 11th or 12th century AD, says Bala Padhmanaban, special Revenue Inspector, HR&CE. According to him, the Skandha Maalai (the garland over the shoulder of Lord Shiva) pointed to the middle Chola period. Further, the Perumal temple at half a km vicinity of Kailasanathar temple was built in the 11th century and is inscribed to be the contemporary of this temple.

Along with these were worship artefacts such as a guindy, thiruchanam and asaradevar. The rationale for the presence of a Nataraja icon amid the above pantheon was strengthened further with the pieces of broken Thiruvasi (found behind Nataraja idols) being part of the find.

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A statue of Nandi, the sacred bull that carried the Hindu god Shiva, has been unearthed at an ancient temple in Indonesia.

Indung Panca Putra, the head of the excavation team from the Yogyakarta Antiquities and Relics Conservation Agency, said the discovery of the statue, which in Hindu mythology is said to embody sexual energy and fertility, meant that the team would now continue its work until Jan. 20. A previous deadline for the excavation work had been set for Jan. 6.

“The statue is exquisite,” Indung said. “The sculpture is carved differently from other statues of Nandi. This one is not depicted as fat.”

Previous discoveries at the site, which is located on the Indonesian Islamic University campus, include a statue of Ganesha, Shiva’s divine son; a linga , the symbol of worship for Shiva; and a yoni , a Hindu symbol for divine passage or birth.

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A sixth century stone sculpture of the Hindu Goddess of wealth, Gajalakshmi, has been discovered in Kashmir.

“As far as the object (sculpture) is concerned it is very important. According to our earlier examination, the statue dates back to the 6th or 7th century. It’s of brownish colour and from the perspective of craftsmanship, it is finely chiselled out,” said Khurshid Ahmad Qadri, Director, Archives Archaeology and Museums of Jammu and Kashmir.

The statue, measuring nine inches in height and five inches in width, is seated on the lotus throne placed between two lions. The main sculpture is enclosed in a stone frame, the top of which projects the shape of elephant motifs towards the head of the deity.

The ruins of an ancient bath dating back to the 8th century have been found near the Ngempon Temple in Central Java.

The ruins are located on a riverbank, 200 meters away from the Hindu temple. Ngempon stands on the other side of the river, close to hot and cold springs.

Wahyu, an official from the Center for Preservation of Cultural Heritage, who came to the location, said the newly discovered structure was believed to date back to the eighth century.

Nurkholis, a local resident who found the structure, said, “I immediately reported the finding to a worker restoring Ngempon Temple. He told me to stop digging until an official from the center arrived.”