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Excavations which began connected January 16 connected the premises of the Kote Veerabhadreshwar temple successful Lakkundi colony of Gadag territory person yielded relics dating backmost to the Neolithic period, giving a fillip to the propulsion for its information for inclusion successful the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
The output of Neolithic relics came adjacent connected the heels of a “treasure” being recovered by a household successful the colony portion digging to laic the instauration for a house.
Hundred wells and temples
The excavation present — astir 12 kilometres from territory office Gadag and erstwhile known arsenic ‘village of 100 wells and temples’ — are portion of sustained efforts to reconstruct the humanities value of Lakkundi. It is believed that respective architectural wonders inactive stay covered by houses and different structures oregon buried beneath the crushed successful the village.
A presumption of the excavation tract adjacent Kote Veerabhadreswhar Temple successful Lakkundi colony successful Gadag territory wherever excavation was initiated connected January 16. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Earlier known arsenic Lokkigundi, the colony finds notation successful inscriptions dating backmost to the 11th and 12th centuries. In these inscriptions the spot is compared to Amaravati, the superior of Indra successful presumption of affluence. Lakkundi was besides known for its “tankashale” (mint). Lakkundi was nether the regularisation of the Chalukya, the Yadava, and the Hoysala kings, and was the superior of Hoysala king Eradane Ballala (Veeraballala) successful 1192 A.D.
Lakkundi was the “Karmabhoomi” of queen Attimabbe, an ardent follower of Jainism known for her philanthropic works. It is said that the queen who lived successful the 11th century, built galore temples and Jain basadis and besides sank wells for the payment of people. An grant successful her sanction (Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Prashasti) has been instituted by the State government.
While Jainism prospered in Lakkundi, it besides gave structure to 12th period sharanas similar Shivasharana Ajaganna and Sharane Muktayakka who propagated Basaveshwara’s message.
Several of Lakkundi’s architectural wonders nary longer beryllium present and Mumbai State Gazetteer mentions lone 13 temples, namely Kashi Visveshwara, Mallikarjun, Halagunda Basavanna, Viurpaksha, Laxmianarayana, Manikeshwara, Virabhadara, Nanneshwara, Someshwara, Neelakanteshwara, Kumbar Siddeshwara oregon Nadayadeva, Nagaradeva and Vishwantha temple, having architectural benignant of Kalyana Chalukyas. Even the wells in Lakkundi are known for their carvings.
Long pending project
Uncovering the buried temple structures and wells has been a agelong pending project, and nether the inaugural of H.K. Patil, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and besides Tourism, it has been revived.
As a prelude to the excavation, the Karnataka State Tourism Department Corporation (KSTDC) on with the Archaeology Museums and Heritage Department had launched an inaugural successful November, 2024, to cod humanities relics from the households successful the village. Under this, 1,050 humanities relics were received from the residents and 13 inscriptions identified. Several of them present find a spot successful the unfastened depository astatine Lakkundi for the constitution of which, the residents person joined hands with Lakkundi Heritage Area Development Authority by parting with their lands.
With INTACH
The Tourism Department is besides giving a propulsion to the connection to see a radical of monuments at Lakkundi on with temples from surrounding places successful the UNESCO’s tentative database of World Heritage Sites. This is successful enactment with the Budget announcement connected getting UNESCO tag for Lakkundi. The State has tied up with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to finetune the proposal.
“So acold 2 meetings person been held successful this respect and they (INTACH) are successful the process of finalising the proposal,” Commissioner of Lakkundi Heritage Area Development Authority Sharanu Gogeri told The Hindu.
There are 7 ASI protected monuments successful Lakkundi and the State has declared 16 temple structures successful the colony arsenic support monuments and plans to adhd 8 much to the database by the month-end. The authorization has been directed to transportation retired a broad survey and taxable study connected including 20 much temples and different structures to the list, which is apt to hap successful February.
Shifting village?
There is besides a connection to displacement the colony to facilitate restoration of the past monuments, but immoderate determination connected the relocation volition beryllium based connected the result of the excavation and different surveys past structures being carried out simultaneously.+
