800-Year-Old Pandya Era Shiva Temple Unearthed in Tamil Nadu:
An important archaeological discovery has been made in Udampatti village of Melur taluk, Tamil Nadu, where the foundation of an 800-year-old Shiva temple belonging to the later Pandya period has been unearthed. Although only the stone base remains, the site is of major historical interest due to Tamil inscriptions dating back to 1217-1218 CE that reveal the temple’s name—Thennavanisvaram—and its financially independent status. This find sheds light on the cultural, architectural, and socio-economic dynamics of the Pandya era.The recent unearthing of a Pandya-era Shiva temple at Udampatti in Melur taluk, with inscriptions from the reign of Maravarman Sundara Pandya, offers significant insights into ancient temple administration and land transactions. The discovery also reveals that the current village was once known as Attur, providing critical historical and linguistic data for researchers.
