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Treasure worth billions reported in Hindu temple

Sun Jul 3, 2011 1:06 AM EDT
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msnbc.com News — The Associated Press, HO

epa02807313 Senior police officials arrive to check the security measurements at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The inventory of the temple, maintained by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, is being made by a seven-member Supreme Court of India, appointed panel. Precious stones, jewellery, gold and silver estimated to be worth several billion dollars have been found in the secret underground vaults of an ancient temple in southern India, a temple official said. The temple has six underground chambers, of which two are opened daily, and two twice a year. The two chambers opened on 30 June and
01 July were last looked at about 130 years ago, the temple‘s executive officer VK Harikumar said. The treasure recovered so far could be worth 500 billion rupees (11 billion dollars), the Hindustan Times quoted sources as saying. EPA/STRINGER

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— THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India - A huge treasure has been found in a Hindu temple in southern India — gold and silver jewelry, coins and precious stones worth billions of dollars, Indian officials said Saturday.

The AFP news agency quoted Kerala Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar as saying the find had been estimated as worth more than $11 billion.

He said archaeological officials would have to examine the discovery in detail to determine its actual value.

The treasure was found in at least five underground vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, known for its sculptures, AFP reported. The temple is in southern Kerala state, near the tip of the subcontinent.

Jayakumar told AFP that one more secret chamber remained to be opened.

18-foot necklace
According to Wikipedia, the temple was dedicated to the god Vishnu, and the foundation of the current tower was laid beginning in 1566.

AFP said devotees had been donating to the vaults for hundreds of years. A necklace found this week was said to be 18 feet long.

Since India's independence from Britain in 1947, APF said, the temple has been controlled by a trust managed by descendants of the Travancore royal family.

But the Supreme Court recently ordered that the temple be brought under state control.

The news of the treasure has prompted a heightened police presence, Kerala director general of police Jacob Punnoose told AFP that a commando force for security was in the planning.

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