History
The Archaeological Museum of Konark, situated to the north of the Sun Temple, contains ancient architectural relics and sculptures collected from the complex surrounding the Sun Temple, which were shifted to the present museum building in 1968. There are four galleries, each housing exquisite treasures.
The first gallery houses around 62 antiquities, the highlights among them being the Ornamented sculpts of Gods and Goddesses of the Hindu mythology, with stone carvings depicting marriages, images of the Sun God - Surya, and multiple incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The second gallery displays a total of 108 antiques, with the rebuilt walls of the temple, as well as embellishments of plants and animals on stones, specially the head of an enormous crocodile, worth highlighting.
The third gallery however, is the one that houses objects of maven craftsmanship, 45 antiquities that are the pinnacle of architecture of that period. The images of Surya Narayana, Gaja-Vyala and a few pictures depicting the king and his battle troops are all present in the third gallery. The fourth gallery displays the remaining 45 artefacts, all protected in showcases. Worth noticing are a man bound by the trunk of an elephant, a roaring lion, erotic couples, king enjoying a dance performance, and swans adorned with garlands. Besides the galleries, the corridors of the museum are lined with pictures of other cities of import, as well as archaeological sites depicting the evolution of architecture in Orissa.
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