ANCIENT TEMPLE DESTROYED BY TSUNAMI
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[ September 21st 2005 ]

Indian archaeologists have uncovered an ancient temple thought built between second century B.C. and first century A.D. and later destroyed by a tsunami, Agence France-Press reports today. The temple was found North of Mahabalipuram, a port town 30 miles south of Madras, India.

Historically referred to as a tidal wave, the tsunami pounded the sea wall of the temple and buried the structure under layers of sand and seashells. Archaeologists are trying to determine the date of the tsunami to learn more about the environmental effects on early man-made constructions.

"We could never study an ancient tsunami without having some man-made materials surviving from that time. This temple is our link to that." Thyagarajan Satyamurthy - lead archaeologist - told AFP. "We didn't know what (the deposits) meant, because we never studied the possibility of a tsunami. That angle never occurred to us."