Bhubaneswar, July 31: Archaeological Survey of India has unearthed at Jharhiamba village in Angul district what is being touted as imitation of the pillars of Asoka.

This evidence is the second of its kind found in the state, the other one being the Siva lingam at Bhaskareswara temple in Bhubaneswar.

At the Praneswara temple in the village, an Asokan column imitation is being worshipped as lingam in two parts while a few pieces of the same column lie scattered on the temple premises.

"If the extant remains of the column are joined together, it measures around 3.47 metres. Besides, the local people say that the base of the largest one is buried about 3m deep from the present ground level. They came to know this after carrying out an excavation out of curiosity," said ASI superintending archaeologist Dibishada B. Garnayak.

"Few metres east of the site, potsherds of red ware, red polished ware, black ware, grey ware, black-and-red ware and terracotta tiles have been found. Near to the ash pond on the bank of the river Brahmani, few sculptures are also noticed with early features which may be dated to the pre-Christian era," said Garnayak.

Experts feel that the strategic location of the site and the presence of the artefacts suggest that this was an important Buddhist establishment of that era.

"Since the other important Buddhist sites of Odisha such as Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Langudi are also situated on the lower Brahmani drainage system, there must be some cultural and religious interactions between these establishments," said Sadasiba Pradhan, archaeologist and a member of the excavation team.

With the site being damaged rapidly by the natural agencies such as the river Brahmani and industrial as well as mining activities in the surrounding areas, the excavation branch is planning to undertake a trial trench excavation at the site which will reveal important archaeological evidences of the site and throw some new light on Buddhism in Odisha as well as in other parts of the country.

Utkal campus

Foundation stone of Utkal University's second campus was laid by higher education minister Ananta Das today.

The state government had earlier announced to sanction Rs 70 crore to set up infrastructure of the rural campus but the university authorities have decided to approach the government again with a revised estimate for funds.

A total of 66.3 acres at Siha panchayat, 12km from Chandikhol, has been provided for the campus.

The new vice-chancellor of the university, Soumendra Mohan Patnaik, took charge today. At the rural campus, the focus would be on skill development of the students.