NAGARKURNOOL: Nearly 1,000-year-old sculptures dating back to the Kalyani Chalukya, Kanduru and Cheraku and Kakatiya kingdoms were found in the premises of Nandikotiswara Swamy temple in Kalvakol village of Kollapur mandal in Nagarkurnool district.
Archeologist Dr E. Siva Nagi Reddy along with his team visited Kalvakol as part of an awareness programme 'Preserve heritage for Posterity' and found the sculptures, which were scattered haphazardly.
The team also noticed an extensive mud fortification of the ancient capital Kalvakol (Kaluvakolanu) also known as Jammulurupura and documented the sculptures and inscriptions from the 10 to 13th centuries. Dr Reddy said that the sculptures include images of Nagas, Ganesha, Veerabhadra, Bhadrakali, Bhairava, Chennakesava, Sivalingas, carts and inscriptions of Ballaha Chandradeva, Cheraku Bollayareddy, a subordinate chief Rudradeva and Ganapatideva of Kakatiya dynasty.
Two large bull sculptures inside the mandapa of the Nandikotishwara swamy temple depict the artistic skills of the Kakatiya period, he said.
He appealed to the local youth to preserve and protect the sculptures by erecting them on pedestals with proper labels for the future generations and historians.
District judge Janga Pavan Kumar accompanied the team.
