Rare stucco Buddhist sculpture excavated in Telangana

According to officials, it’s one of the largest Buddhist stucco sculptures unearthed in India till date.

news Archaeology

In a major discovery in Telangana, archaeologists excavated a rare life-size stucco Buddhist sculpture in Phanigiri, Suryapet district. About 1.73 m in height and 35 cm in width, the figurine represents one of the Bodhisattvas belonging to the Jathaka Chakra. According to government officials, the sculpture is also one of the largest Buddhist stucco sculptures unearthed in India till date.

Sharing the news on Twitter, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Archaeology, V Srinivas Goud, wrote that “the stucco figure is a masterpiece & will be preserved and displayed to create awareness about the great history of Telangana.”

Visited the Centenary Museum to see the Bodhisattva stucco figure which was brought from Phanigiri in Suryapet district, from where it was excavated. The stucco figure is a masterpiece & will be preserved and displayed to create awareness about the great history of Telangana. pic.twitter.com/I44KpkIaGm April 30, 2019

The figurine was kept for media display at the Centenary Heritage Museum in Hyderabad on Monday. The minister also said that he will speak to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and make sure that that the structure is conserved.

According to officials from the heritage department, the stucco sculpture was found facing the ground on the north-eastern side of the Buddhist site at Phanigiri, and was brought to Hyderabad for mending and conservation. It is currently at the Department of Heritage in Gunfoundry.

“The excavations have also brought to light other artefacts belonging to ancient times. A Mahastupa, apsidal chaitya grihas, votive stupas and pillared congregation halls belonging to the Satavahana period from the first century BC were also found,” officials told the media on Monday.

The preliminary excavation at Phanigiri was started in 1941 by Khaja Muhammad Ahmad of the Archaeology Department of the erstwhile Hyderabad state, which continued till 1944. After that, the department took up conservation and restoration work of the Mahastupa and chaityagruhas at the Phanigiri hillock in the 2000s.

According to the Heritage Department, while scientific clearance works were being carried out on January 6, 2015, a valuable dull red earthenware pot with silver container consisting of 11 miniatures beats and three silver and three thin gold flower pelts were discovered at the north-eastern corner of Mahastupa. The mahastupa is considered as Paribhogika stupa which contains the personal belongings of Buddhist monks, a practice that was prevalent during the Ashoka period and continued till the 4th century AD.