Tenth-Century Chola Wells Discovered in India’s Tamil Nadu, Excavation Underway

The ring wells were unearthed when archaeologists removed silt from the four-foot deep temple tank at Karunaswamy Temple in Tamil Nadu. Spread across five and a half acres, the tank has not been in use for many years due to a damaged inlet canal that brought water from the Vadavaru River.

Archaeologists have discovered seven ancient wells lined with terracotta rings in the Thanjavur district of India's Tamil Nadu state while de-silting the Karunaswamy Temple tank.

The recently discovered ring wells date back to the 10th century Chola period, according to experts. Dr. M. Murugan, a researcher of Chola architecture and a renowned archaeologist, told Indian news agency IANS, "These terracotta ring wells were built to benefit humans and cattle in summer” and that “the total number of wells used to be in odd numbers".

The reopening and de-silting of the temple tank was included under Thanjavur district’s Smart City project. The Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department is currently carrying out excavations with the support of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to determine the exact date of the seven terracotta ring wells.

Officials unearthed seven terracotta ring wells while desilting a Chola era temple tank in Thanjavur

© Photo : DT Next/twitter