An antique Buddha idol and a well with terracotta steps have been found by villagers while digging a pond at Badaanko village in Kendrapa district, an official said today.
“The 30-cm Buddha idol and the 30-feet deep well believed to be of medieval period were located while villagers were working under MGNREGA programme in the area early this week,” Kendrapara Sub-Collector Pratap Mishra said.
“The Buddha idol is considerably old and its discovery has re-established that Buddhism flourished in large areas of Kendrapara under Bhaumakar dynasty,” historian Harischandra Prusti said.
The place from where the idol was found is not far away from the famous Lalitgiri-Ratnagiri-Udaygiri Buddhist heritage sites protected by Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI).