Mysuru:  The State Archaeology Department has begun excavation in and around the historic and ancient site of Talakad looking for clues about earlier human habitation. The place is well- known for historical monuments that date back to 5th Century AD. Gangas were in power there then.

A formal guddali puja was performed at the excavation site on Dec. 10 by officials of Archaeology Department and over 40 workers are now engaged in cleaning the sites that have been earmarked  for excavation.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Department Director T. Venkatesh said that the Department had begun excavations in 2010 as part of its regular and seasonal activities. For some reason, the excavation works were stalled and now the works have started as the Department has received the green signal for excavations from Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Excavations will be led by Principal Investigator Prof. N.S. Krishnamurthy and assisted by Dy. Director of Archaeology Department Gavisiddaiah. The task will focus on remains of weapons, equipment, gold coins that were used as currency during Ganga period. The initial estimate of the excavation is Rs. 5 lakh and the entire work will be completed by March, Venkatesh said.

Excavation will be concentrated at Dodda Thopu, Keerthinarayana Temple, Maruleshwara Temple and Chowdeshwari Temple. “We are engaging over 40 workers to clean the excavation sites and they are employed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme. The sites will be cleaned and the excavation locations will be marked. The process will be supervised by experts,” Venkatesh added.

“When the excavation project was initially started in 2010, archaeologists got many leads regarding the existence of various tools and equipment used by Gangas. The present excavation will focus on Temples and the Basadis. This apart, there are six burial sites and an embankment wall that helped protect locals from flooding of River Cauvery,” he said.  

The masonry embankment wall is nearly 10 ft. thick, 15 ft. high and extends to almost 100 ft and was built by the Gangas. The structure saved the southern portion of Talakad from submergence till 16th century AD.

Talakad is located on the banks of River Cauvery and is about 48 km from Mysuru. It was the capital of Gangas and the region was ruled by Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagar rulers and the Wadiyars of Mysuru.

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