The Seven Pagodas of Mahabalipuram
Legend said six temples lay drowned under the sea at Mahabalipuram. Then the 2004 tsunami pulled back the water.
What was reported
Early European visitors to Mahabalipuram, on the coast south of Chennai, wrote of the 'Seven Pagodas': seven temples, of which only the Shore Temple stood above the sea. The other six, local stories said, had been swallowed by the waves. Fishermen spoke of seeing temple tops under the water.
In December 2004, as the Indian Ocean tsunami drew the sea back, people on the beach saw rows of stone structures briefly exposed. Afterwards, the sand left behind revealed carved stones, including an elephant's head and a lion.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Institute of Oceanography found ruins of walls, steps and carved blocks on the seabed offshore, and excavated an old temple on the beach whose brick foundations go back about 2,000 years. They haven't found six complete temples, but the legend clearly has a real basis.
- When
- Legend from at least the 1700s; ruins found in 2004
- Where
- Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India
- Witnesses
- Fishermen, travellers and archaeologists
- Status
- Partly confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.