Summary:
Agra, Sep 9 (PTI) The Archaeological Survey of India has found "shankhalipi" inscription on the stairs of a Gupta-period temple in a village in Etah district that has been dated to the time of Emperor Kumaragupta, officials said on Thursday.
ASI Superintending Archaeologist (Agra Circle) Vasant Kumar told PTI that the inscription possibly reads "Sri Mahendraditya" which was the title of Kumaragupta, a ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
"Shankhalipi" is a script with conch-shaped characters and it is assumed to be a derivative of Brahmi script.
Kumar said that the breakthrough discovery was made on the stairs leading to a Gupta period temple in Etah"s Bilsarh village.
It was discovered during a cleaning of the premises of an ASI-protected site of two pillars at Bilsarh village, he said, adding the pillars have human figures inscribed on them.
"We were curious to know about the depth of the pillars, so the excavation work began, leading to the unearthing of the steps," Kumar said, adding four steps of stone and a platform of bricks were discovered. "An inscription in "Shankhalipi" was discovered on one of the steps, dating to 5th century CE, the Gupta period.