The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has discovered the ruins of an ancient maritime lamppost in Telikuda village under Kakatpurblock in Puri district.
The broken lamppost was discovered in a neglected condition over a sand dune on the bank of Kaduariver near its estuarine point.
The existence of the lamppost was reported to the INTACH’s Cuttack Chapter by a local heritage enthusiast,Satyajit Swain.
A team from INTACH, led by Deepak Kumar Nayak, had gone to Telikuda village to document this historical site. The other members of the team included Anil Dhir, BiswajitMohanty and BikramNayak.
The lamppost was constructed using burnt bricks and stone slabs. The post had collapsed a few decades ago and locals had repaired it using cement plaster and bricks. However, the old bricks and stone slabs are still present in the foundation and lower portion of the fallen tower.
According to Deepak Nayak, the finding of this ancient light post can shed new light on the maritime history of Odisha.
