1,000 rockets found on Shivamogga farm

SHIVAMOGGA: More than 1,000 rockets were found in slush and mud removed from a well in Nagara village, Hosanagar taluk of Shivamogga district.

They were found during field work by the department of archaeology, museums and heritage on July 25 and 26 in land owned by Nagaraj Rao, a local farmer.
The authorities said they’re yet to ascertain the age of these rockets and why they were buried in the well.

“Even though rocket technology was first developed by Tipu Sultan, there’s no evidence that these rockets belong to him. A detailed analysis is required to confirm it,” said R Shejeswara, assistant director, department of archaeology, museums and heritage, Shivamogga.

Shejeswara said the excavation is continuation of the digging which started in 2002. “When Nagaraj Rao was clearing the mud and slush from his empty well in 2002, he found 160 rockets. Iron items and ammunition were also recovered from the spot. We carried out scientific examinations on these items in 2007,” he explained.

He said, “There was a feeling that more rockets and ammunition may be buried in slush and mud removed from the well. In the 2017-18 departmental budget, we made a separate provision for excavation in the area. We carried out the excavation on July 25 and 26 under the leadership of commissioner T Venkatesh and found these rockets,” he said.

“We expected to get around 100-200 rockets, but we recovered more than 1,000 rockets,” he said.