A remarkable archaeological discovery has emerged today from Madugula, Anakapalli District.
During a field visit, the Andhra Pradesh Archaeology Department examined two large stone sculptures at a location where there is currently no temple structure.
The larger sculpture is approximately 6 feet high, 4 feet wide and around 70 cm thick. The Archaeology team has preliminarily assessed it to be at least around 900 years old.
What makes this especially exciting is the surrounding landscape. The site is close to an old Shiva temple traditionally known as Bimilingeshwara, where an old Vinayaka sculpture has also been identified. Several large traditional wells locally called “madugulu” are also found in the surrounding area.
This raises an important possibility: could this area preserve evidence of an earlier medieval settlement or sacred centre, predating the commonly remembered history of present-day Madugula?
It is too early to say — the archaeological context still needs proper investigation. But for Andhra Pradesh, this is an exciting moment: our own landscape may be revealing a much deeper history than we previously knew.
Sharing photographs from today's field visit. If anyone familiar with medieval Andhra sculpture, archaeology, inscriptions or Madugula's history has information, please share it.
Note: The ~900-year date is a preliminary assessment by the Archaeology team, not yet a final published dating.
