Restoration efforts at a 12th-century Shiva temple in rural Yavatmal, Maharashtra, have revealed a mercury-sealed ritual vault located beneath the main pedestal. Built during the Silahara dynasty, the chamber was found to contain a collection of panchaloha idols and copper-plate charters that had been preserved from environmental decay by a thick layer of mineral-based alchemical sealant.
The discovery is particularly significant for the Silahara-Yadava transitional art style it represents, featuring unique geometric motifs not common in later periods. Archaeologists are currently analyzing the inscriptions, which are believed to document a previously unknown local branch of the dynasty. This finding suggests that the Silahara influence extended further into the eastern Deccan than previously recorded in mainstream historical texts.