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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, November 3, 2004: The banks of the river Thames has yielded many exotic items, including a series of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, some of which could be more than a century old, says this article. The four Deities discovered include Durga, Ganesha, Vishnu and Hanuman. the statues are made of stone or metal. Other discoveries include two metal plaques called yantras, one of copper alloy and the other silver plated. Nikola Burdon of the Museum of London wrote in the London archaeologist that the copper yantra has details of the nine planets. Some of these Hindu objects are modern, but three of the statuettes and the copper yantra “could possibly date back to the late 19th century,” Burdon says.



Burdon says: “As the Ganges is not very accessible to the Anglo-Hindu community, it could be that they are utilizing the next best thing–a river that has an impact on their lives and their surrounding. She also says: “Another explanation is the disposal of damaged religious objects. A Hindu has a responsibility to dispose them in a respectful way, by returning them to the earth: this is often done by submerging the object in running water that flows to the sea. But not all the Hindu objects found on the Thames foreshore are broken or damaged.” The Museum of London has consulted Hindu leaders, who seemed surprised by the discoveries. It is not known for how long the deposition of Hindu objects has been going. Some date to within the past 20 years. But they have been reported only within the past decade. “Deposition and discovery reflect a long tradition in the use of the Thames as a spiritual site,” says Burdon.

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