Decades of efforts by villagers finally bore fruit as a pair of huge Nandi monoliths were unearthed from a lake in Arsinakere in Mysuru taluk, Star of Mysore has reported. Another report quotes a team that visited the statues saying that they appear to belong to the post-Vijayanagar empire period, that is the 16th or 17th century.

The presence of buried monoliths had been known for a long time, with Mysuru’s erstwhile monarch Jayachamaraja Wadiyar frequenting the village and trying to unearth the statues earlier. The statues unfortunately couldn’t be unearthed then and the king had to be content with offering prayers to the water body.

Villagers in the area, however, continued with the efforts with the facial part of the statues gaining visibility over the years. Now, with the area drying up this summer, villagers again took up the task and have finally succeeded in unearthing the two Nandis with the help of JCB earth-movers.

One of the Nandi statues measures 15 ft in length and 12 ft in height with another statue of smaller dimensions facing it. Several other idols of gods and goddesses were also found during the excavations giving credence to the belief that a huge temple is buried underneath.

However, despite the find of significant archaeological value, the villagers say that the Archeology Department has failed to take the matter up with seriousness. As per a villager, the statues were visited by an official once 18 months ago with no follow-up action.

The Hindu reports that details of the excavation have been sent to Commissioner of the Archeology Department and further excavation has been stopped pending instructions regarding the conservation of the monoliths.