Ancient Hindu idols recovered throughout excavation at a spring in J&K’s Anantnag district

Ancient Hindu idols had been recovered throughout excavation work for the renovation of a spring in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, officers stated.

The idols and ‘Shivlings’ had been recovered at Karkoot Nag within the Salia space of Aishmuqam within the south Kashmir district.

The website holds significance for Kashmiri Pandits, who affiliate it with the Karkoota dynasty that dominated Kashmir from 625 to 855 CE.

The Public Works Department is enterprise revival and restoration works within the spring and the labourers recovered the idols throughout the excavation work, officers stated on Saturday (August 2, 2025).

They stated the officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums visited the positioning, and added the idols can be despatched to Srinagar for materials and courting testing to find out their age and origins.

“We will shift them to SPS museum where they will be studied by research scholars and the department,” they stated.

According to a Kashmiri Pandit, “There has been an impact of the Karkoota dynasty in this area, so there is a probability that a temple might have been there or someone might have kept them there for preservation”.

He stated the positioning, about 16 km from the district headquarters, has been a pilgrimage centre.

“These were recovered from the sacred pond. Some Shivlings, a sculpture and other items have been recovered. We want them to be protected. We have heard there used to be a temple here, and so a new temple be built here and these ‘Shivlings’ be kept there,” he stated.