The sea claimed an ancient capital of India. Now it has given it back!
By Jan McGirk
14 February 2005


Two granite lions placed as guardians of an ancient city proved impotent before the power of the sea. But that same force has brought them to light centuries later.

The Boxing Day tsunami has revealed what archaeologists believe to be the lost ruins of an ancient city off Tamil Nadu in Southern India.

The 30-feet waves, which reshaped the Bay of Bengal and swept more than 16,000 Indians to their deaths, shifted thousands of tons of sand to unearth the pair of elaborately carved stone lions near the 7th-century Dravidian Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram.

Indian archaeologists believe these granite beasts once guarded a small port city under the Pallava dynasty, which ruled much of southern India from 100BC to AD800. The six-foot high lion statues, each hewn from a single piece of granite, are breathtakingly lifelike. One great stone cat sits up alert while the other is poised to pounce.

Two foundation walls also remain visible beneath the murky waters.

The tsunami also desilted a large bas-relief stone panel close to the Shore Temple. The half-completed sculpted elephant scoured clean by the waves now attracts mobs of visitors who touch its eroded trunk as a good luck talisman.

Scientists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are descending on the World Heritage temple complex of Mahabalipuram, south of Madras, to examine these relics and to launch an underwater survey.

They were discovered by a fishermen who survived the disaster when he was catapulted aloft by the tsunami and reportedly clung for hours to the great arch of the Shore Temple. He spotted the undersea structures from this perch and told district authorities.

Marine archaeologists have been working with divers from Delhi and a team from the Scientific Exploration Society in Dorset to search for any remnants of this ancient port since April 2002.

"The sea has thrown up evidence of the grandeur of the Pallava dynasty," the superintendent ASI archaeologist, T Sathiamoorthy, said last week. "We're all excited about these finds."

Sailors used to refer to Mahabalipuram as the "Seven Pagodas".




Anyone know of this city or have any possable info on it?

Mahabalipuram is located on the Bay of Bengal coast in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This area is located on a rocky beach crop in-between a beach and a lagoon. Mahabalipuram is a part of the Golden Triangle Circuit in South India. Mahabalipuram is also known as Mamallapuram.

In ancient historical times the Pallava kings ruled Mahabalipuram. Most rulers who reigned in Mahabalipuram were followers of Jainism. Sculptures and monuments of a later period indicate that some rulers became followers of Hindu gods :Lord Shiva and Vishnu.

Mahabalipuram is rich in heritage; it has a number of ancient temples. The city has a number of rock and stone sculptures. There are several monuments that give us information about Shaivism and Jainism. The city is popular for its Pallava arts and culture.

There are many tourist spots in Mahabalipuram. It is a beautiful beach resort and is a major attraction for tourists, especially for its natural beauty. The Shore Temple is an important tourist destination; this temple was built in the seventh century.

Mahabalipuram is one of history's intriguing enigmas. The ancient Mamallapuram, as Mahabalipuram was formerly known, was flourishing port town of the Pallava rulers of south India who chiseled in stone a fabulous "open-air museum" of sculpture under the vault of a burning sky. Apart from this, nothing is known of the place. What was the purpose behind this whole exercise, and, more important, why all the royal patronage this place enjoyed suddenly disappeared, no one actually has any answer.

Experts say that there were seven pagodas or temples on the shores of Mahabalipuram. All but one were pillaged by the rapacious sea, though there is little underwater evidence to substantiate their existence.

Most of the temples and rock carvings of this place were built during the reigns of Narsinha Varman I (AD 630-668) and Narsinha Varman II (AD 700-728). Though the initial kings of Pallava dynasty were followers of Jainism, the conversion of Mahendra Varman (AD 600-630) to Shaivism led most of the monuments to be related with Shiva or Vishnu.

Here are some pics...

More pics...

looks like theres underwater evidence now. thanks for the info and pic bones!

No probs dude!

An off topic thought: Could a tsunami give Atlantis back?

Yeah... In pieces.

sure i dont see why it couldnt help uncover something

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle?

Sure, a very old and eroded one though.