People perform puja near the ancient temple structure. (Right) The statue of Buddha at the Malda museum. Pictures by Surajit Roy

Malda, May 7: A dome believed to be of a 9th century temple was discovered on Monday while deepening a pond in the same area where a priceless six-feet-high Buddha statue had been found 19 years ago.

The Old Malda police, who came to know about the discovery today, stopped the digging of the pond in Santipur village, located 16km from here. The state archaeological department has already been informed by the local administration.

Naru Ghosh, the owner of the land, said the pond was being deepened as it had gone dry because of the intense heat. “The digging began on Sunday and the square, a ridged structure which looked like a temple spire, emerged the next day after the labourers dug four feet.”

The statue of Buddha had been found in the same spot when the pond was being dug almost two decades ago. Ghosh said the statue is now with the museum in Malda.

The curator of the museum, Sadhan Deb, said the dome might be the vestige of a 9th century AD temple. According to him, it could be the spire of a Buddhist vihara or a stupa. In 1989 a Buddha statue belonging to the same era was found there.

Later, the state archaeological department had carried out excavation in the nearby Jagjibanpur village and discovered more evidence of a Buddhist period, Deb said. “It is possible that these Buddha temples were built by the Pala kings who ruled Bengal in the 9th century AD.”

After the discovery, the dry pond has become a place of worship where people in large number offer flowers.