Workers restoring a historic temple in southern India have uncovered a carefully concealed hoard of 103 gold coins dating to the Chola period, a powerful dynasty that dominated the region from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries A.D. The coins were found near the Javvadu Hills in the state of Tamil Nadu, stacked neatly inside a pot and buried beneath the temple floor.

The temple where the cache was discovered is believed to date to the reign of King Rajaraja Cholan III, whose rule is placed between 1216 and 1246. The find links the building’s history directly to the late Chola era and provides physical evidence of the wealth that circulated through religious institutions at that time.

Discovery Beneath a Restored Temple

The hoard came to light during restoration work at a Shiva temple located near the Javvadu Hills, a region in Tamil Nadu known for its historic settlements and religious architecture. As workers removed sections of the floor, they encountered a buried pot filled with gold coins, each placed in a deliberate, orderly stack.

The placement of the coins suggests an intentional act of deposition beneath a functioning place of worship. The discovery indicates that the temple floor had not been significantly disturbed since the coins were concealed centuries ago, preserving the context of the find.

Evidence From the Chola Period

The coins have been dated to the Chola period, which extended from the ninth through the thirteenth centuries A.D. This era is associated with strong royal authority, extensive maritime and inland trade, and large-scale temple construction across South India.

The association of the temple with King Rajaraja Cholan III situates the deposit within the late phase of Chola rule. This period saw continued religious patronage, even as political conditions changed elsewhere in the region. The hoard offers a concentrated sample of the monetary forms in circulation during the final centuries of Chola dominance.

Temple Wealth and Regional Trade

Researchers note that temple wealth expanded substantially in the late Chola period, when gold-based trade networks were active across South India. Temples functioned not only as religious centers but also as repositories of valuables and nodes in economic exchange, receiving donations in the form of coins, precious metals, and other offerings.

The cache from the Javvadu Hills temple aligns with this pattern of accumulation. The number of coins and their careful arrangement in a single container point to a deliberate effort to safeguard material wealth within the sacred space.

Organized Storage Beneath the Floor

The coins were discovered neatly stacked in a pot, rather than scattered or dispersed, indicating that the deposit was structured and intentional. Burial beneath the floor suggests that the hoard was meant to remain concealed, either as a long-term store of value or as part of the temple’s reserved assets.

Such an arrangement implies that temple administrators or donors had a clear system for handling and protecting gold holdings. The secure location beneath the main flooring would have limited access while keeping the hoard within the physical and ritual boundaries of the building.

Insight Into Religious and Economic Practice

The hoard underscores the close relationship between religious institutions and financial resources in medieval South India. Temples often served as economic actors, engaging in land management, lending, and redistribution of goods. Gold coin deposits like the one discovered near the Javvadu Hills provide tangible evidence of these roles.

The presence of more than one hundred gold coins in a single deposit reflects the scale at which wealth could be concentrated in a single temple. It also illustrates how precious metals were integrated into ritual landscapes, with monetary value and religious significance coexisting in the same physical setting.

Late Chola Context in Tamil Nadu

The dating of the temple to the reign of Rajaraja Cholan III helps place the new discovery within a defined historical framework. This ruler’s period saw ongoing temple activity in Tamil Nadu, including construction, renovation, and the expansion of religious endowments.

The location near the Javvadu Hills suggests that significant resources were directed to religious sites beyond major urban centers. The hoard indicates that even regional temples participated in the broader economic systems that characterized late Chola rule, particularly the circulation of gold through trade routes and donations.

Role of Gold-Based Trade Networks

The reference to gold-based trade networks across South India provides crucial context for understanding why such a hoard would exist beneath a temple. Gold coins likely moved through markets linking inland regions with coastal ports, where goods were exchanged over long distances.

Temples could receive part of this wealth in the form of offerings from merchants, landowners, and local elites who sought to support religious institutions or commemorate acts of devotion. The deposit at the Javvadu Hills temple may represent an accumulation of such offerings over time, consolidated into a single cache for security and administrative convenience.

Ongoing Study of the Coin Hoard

Officials from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department are working with archaeologists to examine the coins in detail. The study aims to document features such as weight, metal composition, iconography, and inscriptions, which can shed light on minting practices and political authority during the Chola period.

Careful analysis of the hoard will help clarify whether the coins were produced under the same ruler, issued across multiple reigns, or derived from different parts of the Chola realm. The findings are expected to contribute to a more precise understanding of monetary circulation in medieval Tamil Nadu.

Next Steps in Documentation and Conservation

The coins are now subject to formal study and conservation procedures under the supervision of heritage officials and archaeological specialists. The hoard will be cleaned, cataloged, and recorded, along with detailed notes on the findspot and the original position of the pot beneath the temple floor.

Further work at the site will focus on documenting the stratigraphy around the discovery area and assessing whether additional deposits or architectural features are present. The ongoing analysis is intended to integrate the gold hoard into a broader record of the temple’s history, the Chola period, and the economic role of religious institutions in South India.