Even as the government ordered trenching and digging to find out the treasure trove purportedly hidden in a tunnel under the foothills of the famed Birla Temple in Hyderabad, new facts have emerged on the hidden treasure in the Keesaragutta Fort near Hyderabad once ruled by the kings of the Vishnukundi dynasty during the fourth century.
Keesaragutta, once known as the Keesaragiri, was the headquarters of the kings of the Vishnukundi dynasty. The kings ruled the Telugus with impeccable authority and golden coins were circulated by them as the currency.
The fort of the 3 km diameter on the Keesagutta contains some pictured symbols on stones at one of the places and the symbols are said to be indicative of the hidden treasure trove. The ancient kings and scholars used to depict these symbols to indicate certain things before the first written languages of Pali and Kharosti came into force.
The archeology department once found 207 ancient coins including some gold ones during the exploration before 1982-83. The department later abandoned the exploration for unknown reasons.
Recently, some people were found taking up digging at a remote corner of the Keesaragutta but were driven away by the officials.
The language of the pictured symbols is known as hieroglyphics and there are no people in India who understand this language. There are some experts in Greece and Egypt who are well versed in hieroglyphics. Now there are demands that the government should take up exploration for hidden treasures on the Keesaragutta by using the expertise of these specialists.
Well known historian B.Raman says that Madhava Varma, one of the famous kings belonging to the Vishnukundi dynasty, always maintained an overflowing treasury and he must have hidden some treasure at one of the places on the hill.
Another historian Mr Vijayabhaskara Reddy said there must be either a hidden treasure or a secret tunnel going by the language of the pictured symbols.
When asked about the exploration, Dr Chenna Reddy, director of the archeology department, said the department is now considering exploring the hill for any hidden treasure trove. (J)
