5th century caves that will be lost due to Navi Mumbai Airport, maybe stored in digital format

A large rock-cut cave dating back to the 5th century will soon be a lost part of the history after the Navi Mumbai International Airport comes up in the vicinity. The cave is located ahead of Dungi village that falls in the core region of the airport plan, and the chances of the historical site continuing to exist remain minimal.

Anthropologist and Indologist Salil Sayed and Anjay Dhanawade, however, are not ready to give up. After a reference from historian Ravindra Lad, who wrote an article on the Dungi caves in the Konkan Itihas Parishad, the two visited the cave. Intrigued by its possible historical importance, the two did a survey of the area in January 2016. They then decided to document the cave by making its digital replica using photogrammetry. "We saw that the caves were similar to the ones in Lonar. They must belong to the 5th century latest. So we started clicking pictures and are now in a process of making a photogrammetric image of the cave, as it was in the ancient period," said Salil.

The 55 feet by 25 feet cave has 6 supporting pillars. It is carved out of a single rock and uses ancient stone carving process to flatten the roof and side walls. It was used as a storage or octroi naka during or post the rule of the Ahira raj. "The cave must have also been a place to rest during nights for merchants traveling on foot to the adjacent docks of Panvel, Thane and others," said Lad. "There are three compartments in the cave, which can be used to store good and cargo coming via ships. It looks suitable as a commercial center. It can also be a resting place for merchants," added Salil.

There are speculations in Lad's article that the caves were a link to the unknown port of Dounga mentioned in the texts of Ptolemy. The port was said to be an important center of commerce during the 2nd century. "We are working on this theory. The photogrammetric reconstruction of the caves is something that we want to do before they are demolished," said Salil.

The duo will be studying other ancient temples and relics in the area to make photogrammetric images of the important ones. The researchers and Lad claim no inscriptions or idols were found in the cave that could symbolise that it was used as a temple. Even though, for the last 60-70 years, residents of the nearby hamlet of Waghavli Wada consider the cave to be the residence of local diety Keru Mata. The cave, earlier in a pathetic condition, was maintained by Damodar Ganpat M, a local villager, who converted it into a temple.

"The cave had a lot of stagnated water and the floor was covered with knee-deep mud. Initially, I cleaned all of it myself. Later, with the help of donations, added the floors and got the walls painted. Three chambers of the cave are still full of water, which is clear and fit to drink," said Damodar. He even sent a letter to City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), appealing to save the caves, but there was no response.