Seven Chola period ring wells discovered in Thanjavur

Chennai, May 24: In a recent finding from Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur, seven ancient wells lined with terracotta rings have been unearthed. The discovery took place while desilting the Karunaswamy temple tank Thanjavur.

 

 

 

 

According to the Archeologists, the ring wells date back to 10th Century CE, a period marked with exquisite Chola rule in Sangam history. The IANS quotes Dr. M. Murugan, Researcher of Chola Architecture and also a renowned Archeologist,saying, "These terracotta ring wells were built to benefit humans and cattle in summer and that the total number of wells used to be in odd numbers."

 

 

 

 

 

The ring wells were noticed when silt was being removed at a depth of about four feet and seven ring wells were unearthed. According to the excavation report, the temple tank is spread across five and a half acres of land. The tank has not been in use for the past many years. According to the temple authorities, the inlet canal that brought water from the Vadavarur river was damaged. It was included under the Smart City project of Thanjavur and delisting was again conducted as the flow of water was low.

 

According to the Smart City authorities, during the delisting, seven terracotta ring wells were found and the exact date and period of the wells will be found in the coming days. The Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department is doing the excavations with the support of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).