India, June 17 -- Archaeologists from the State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums discovered two centuries-old copper-plate inscriptions last week at the Shri Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple at Morgaon, one of Maharashtra's most revered Ashtavinayak shrines. The team discovered the inscriptions within the original stone arch behind the temple's presiding deity in the sanctum sanctorum during restoration work carried out under the state government's Ashtavinayak conservation project.

Historians described the discovery as one of the most important archaeological findings linked to the Ashtavinayak temples in recent decades. The inscriptions are expected to offer fresh insights into temple administration, donor traditions, religious network...