Kerala: Mother of all treasure troves unearthed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A gargantuan treasure trove was unearthed when Chamber ‘A’ inside Sreepadmanabha Swamy Temple was openedon Thursday. The seven-member Supreme Court- appointed committee, which openedthe chamber is learned to have added valuables worth Rs 20,000 crore into the inventory.The treasure contains ‘Kashi necklaces’ worth several crores, believed to beworn by kings of Travancore. Crowns, jewels and precious stones were also listed.The seven-member committee, aided by Fire Force, Rescue Force and PWD officials, entered the underground chamber, armed with oxygen masks.Three sets of crowns and an idol of Padmanabha Swamy have been listed.A large collection of ‘Saratpoli mala’, numbering 1,000, was also found. Theyare studded with gems called ‘aval’. Nearly a tonne of ‘aval’ was found.One of these chains was reportedly 18-foot long.‘Swarna dhandu’ in huge numbers and ‘pathakam’ have also been listed in thischamber. The chamber was feared to be filled with poisonous fumes due to which it wasoxygenated first. The members who entered the chamber were provided with oxygen masks.The committee has already opened the ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘F’ chambers while the ‘E’chamber could not be opened on Wednesday, as it required the presence of the‘nambi’. This chamber and chamber ‘B’ are expected to be opened on Friday.The whole exercise began on Monday with the committee members openingthe ‘C’ chamber which contained gold items, including golden umbrellas, pots,‘varps’ and silver pots. On Tuesday, the ‘D’ and ‘F’ chambers were opened.Precious stone-studded thrones and crowns have been found among the innumerable valuables stacked in these chambers.On Wednesday, the committee opened the ‘A’ chamber — which had not beenopened for centuries — for a few minutes and decided to seek the help of Fire and Rescue Services personnel and Health Department officials to ward off any untoward incidents.