Lucknow, March 30
Excavation at a religious site at Ayodhya to ascertain whether a
temple existed at a place where a mosque was built in the 16th
century, today found indications of the presence of a permanent
structure beneath the earth.
“The diggers have found four layers of flooring and this, without any doubt, proves that there existed a permanent structure beneath this mould of soil,” said Mr R.M. Srivastava, Commissioner of the Faizabad division.
Mr Srivastava told The Tribune on telephone from Faizabad that the flooring did not prove that beneath the rubbles were the remains of either a temple or a mosque. “It is up to the senior archaeologists to find out the nature of the flooring. It can be anything,” he said.
Hindus and Muslims had been claiming ownership of the religious site at Ayodhya. Hindus claimed this site to be the birth place of Lord Ram.
Excavation had started at the religious site following court orders to ascertain whether a temple existed at the place where a mosque was built in the 16th century.
The court, in its order on March 5, asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out an excavation to ascertain whether the Babri Mosque was built after demolishing a Hindu temple. The ASI was asked to give its report within a month.
Based on the findings of the ASI, the court is likely to hand over the disputed site either to Hindus or to Muslims. The digging started on March 12.
