Ancient Indian temple unearthed

The ruins of an ancient temple built by a long-vanished kingdom in southern India are being excavated by archaeologists who say the Hindu sanctum may have been destroyed centuries ago by a tsunami.

The temple was found in the region affected by the December 26 Asian tsunami, and the "discovery now poses very interesting questions ... about the history of tsunamis", archaeologist Thyagarajan Satyamurthy said.

The temple appears to have been built between the second century BC and the first century AD just north of Mahabalipuram, a port town 50km south of Chennai.