15th century stone trough found

Vijayawada: A 15th century stone trough spotted on the right bank of the river Krishna at Tangeda village in Dachepalli mandal of Guntur district during the explorations conducted by Dr E Sivanagi Reddy, CEO, Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA) as part of 'Preserve Heritage for Posterity' initiative on Friday.

Dr Reddy, accompanied by Gudapati Padmasekhar, member of Durga Malleswara Temple Trust Board, noticed the stone trough and reported that the unique huge trough chiselled out in Palnadu lime stone measuring 15ft x 3ft x 3ft with a depth of one foot from the River Krishna to facilitate drinking water for elephants during 15th century AD at Tangeda, a ferry point and an inland port tour served as an administrative headquarters of Tangedasthala and also as a multinational trade centre.

He also said that the village Tangeda encircled by a fort and a moat was a strategic defence outpost of the Kakatiya, Reddy and Vijayanagara rulers in the medieval times.

Dr Reddy said that there were inscriptions dated 1308 AD (Prataparudra), 1373 AD (Anavema Reddy) and 1391 AD (Kumaragiri Reddy) and Tirupati inscription dated 1516 AD of the Krishnadevaraya mentions that he captured the Fort Tangeda during his eastern campaign. He appealed to the state government to protect the stone trough for posterity.