Fourteen ‘panchaloha’ idols, including that of Lord Nataraja and Goddess Parvathi, were unearthed on November 11 at a 600-year-old temple where renovation work is being taken up.
The Pazhamalainathar temple is located at Pazhanjur village near Adirampattinam, 70 km from Thanjavur, and workers engaged in renovation work found the idols while they were digging the earth, revenue officials said.
The idols also included one of Lord Ganesh, they said.
‘Panchaloha’ is a term for traditional five-metal alloys of sacred significance, used for making Hindu temple idols.