Buddhist cave from 1st century BC unearthed in Andhra Pradesh

A huge rock-cut Buddha cave has been unearthed at the Dhanamkoda Hill in Vijayawada. It is believed that the cave dates back to the 1st century BC. The discovery came to light when a survey was conducted by Dr E Sivanagi Reddy, a Buddhist archaeologist and CEO of Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amravati (CCVA), as part of the awareness campaign, Preserve Heritage for Posterity, by CCVA.

The archaeologist, along with Buddhist heritage activist Subhakar Medhasani, put in efforts to identify the cave, which is cut into a hill at a height of 200 ft from the ground level. Reportedly, the length of the cave is 15 ft, it measures 16 ft in height, and 8 ft in depth.
One can reach the cave through a flight of steps to a ramp situated opposite Boyapati Madhavarao Street in Mogalrajpuram in the city. Also, the cave and the stupa motif is devoid of any artistic designs, and it looks like the one that is located at Bojjannakonda, in Visakhapatnam district.
Speaking about this development, Dr. Reddy said that the rock-cut cave belongs to the Theravada monks, who likely used this space as a retreat, especially during the rainy season. After carefully scanning the historical significance of this cave, Dr. Reddy and Subhakar Medasani has asked the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority to include it in the Vijayawada Buddhist circuit.
As per the reports, a natural cave has also been spotted toward the east of the rock-cut cave, which is also believed to be the rain retreat of the monks.