Amaravati, July 16 -- In a significant revelation, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found that Srisailam in Nandyala district of Andhra Pradesh has not just been a religious centre but was also an international trading centre during the medieval period.

For the past month, ASI's Epigraphy Branch has been studying the inscriptions in the Nallamala forests spread across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Srisailam, which is located inside the Nallamala forests, is home to the Lord Mallikarjuna's (Shiva) Jyotirlinga temple, which is also one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and a major Shakti Peetham.

The temple complex contains numerous narrative bas-reliefs (figures and designs projected slightly from a flat background surface) on its outer...