14th century idols found in Banaskantha village - The Times of India

PALANPUR: Seven idols which might be long to 14th century were recovered on Saturday from a field in Rah village, about 24 km from Tharad, in Banaskantha district. The discovery was made when farmer Akji Vaghela was ploughing the field. Nine conches and seven idols, of which five are made of 'panch dhaatu' (five metals) and two made of black stones, were recovered from the site.

Police sub-inspector G R Patel who had reached site after getting the information said, "The black stone idols are damaged and the metal idols are covered in a thick layer of rust."

"The idols are yet to be identified, but probably belong to ancient times," said Ravi Shankar, sub-divisional magistrate of Tharad on Sunday. At present, we have kept the idols at the police station, he added.

Tharad is located on the international border with Pakistan and was once known as 'Jain-nagar' because of the number of Jains staying here. Local Jains feel that the idols might belong to Jain tirthankars.

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