TIRUVANNAMALAI: Several centuries-old sculptures and pillars with inscriptions have been lying in a state of neglect in Puthupalayam village, about six kms from Polur in Tiruvannamalai district, for decades now.For the villagers, the cluster of ancient sculptures of gods and goddesses, which were lying under an overhead water tank on the outskirts of the village, is of no value. Same with the authorities of the district administration and revenue department, as they left the sculptures and inscription embedded pillars and slabs unattended for several years. Interestingly, a group of youngsters in the village had dug out a Shiva Baanam measuring around 13 feet tall, 12 years ago near a waterbody in the village.“We were in fact, playing on the sculpture. Out of curiosity, we dug up around the sculpture to find out how long it was, and we were amazed that it was 13 feet tall. Over 70 percent of the Baanam was under the earth,” recollected V Vinoth Kumar, a college student from the village.After learning about the tallest Shiva Baanam that was unearthed in the district, the then Collector M Rajendran visited the village in the end of 2008. He instructed a team of archaeologists and revenue officials to look for artefacts and sculptures in and around the village. With the help of the villagers, the officials stumbled upon several sculptures and temple structures like pillars and base that dated back to 9th and 10th century AD.Officials and archaeologists had frequently visited the village and conducted a study. Within two weeks after unearthing the sculptures, two of the Dwarapalaka sculptures and another sculpture went missing under mysterious circumstances. However, the authorities had failed to protect the remaining sculptures, said Vinoth Kumar.At present, there are two Dwarapalakas belonging to Chola period , Vishnu Durgai, Brahma, four Sapthamatrikas of Pallava period at the village, said Raj Panneerselvam of Tiruvannamalai Heritage Foundation.With the little effort from a group of youngsters, the Shiva Baanam was erected and a four-feet wall was raised around it to protect it.“The sculptures are dumped under the overhead water tank on the outskirt of the village. The villagers, without knowing their historical value, damaged several slabs with inscriptions and used them as concrete to construct a small temple in the village,” he said.The broken piece found scattered around the sculptures indicates that it was the Aavvudayar of the Shiva Lingam. “The inscriptions denotes that a temple was built during Kannaradevan of Rashrukutas dynasty (7th and 10th Century AD),” added Raj.It was the duty of the district administration to protect and preserve such ancient sculptures and inscription that speak volume about the history and culture of the land. But the failed to do their duty, said an archaeologist on condition of anonymity.“It is a rich collection of ancient sculptures,” Curator of Vellore Government Museum K Saravanan said and also confirmed that they belong to imperial Chola period.“We will alert the revenue officials and district administration to keep them safe. We will also take measures to recover and shift them to the museum at the earliest,” he added.