Several posts (here, here, here, here, and here) accompanying a video of an excavator digging the earth resulting in the emergence of a Nataraja idol are widely shared across social media platforms. The claim suggests that the video depicts a Nataraja idol found recently in excavations in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in March 2024. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claims made in the posts.
Claim: Video depicting the discovery of a Nataraja idol in excavations in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in March 2024.
Fact: According to news reports, a Nataraja idol was discovered in March 2024 during excavations by the archaeology department at the premises of the Siva Kulundeswarar temple in Sivan Koodal village, near Sriperumbudur. However, the viral video is scripted and does not depict the recent discovery of a Nataraja idol in Sriperumbudur. This viral video was uploaded by a YouTube channel that has uploaded many such scripted videos. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the accuracy of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. This search led us to a news bulletin video uploaded on YouTube by ‘Puthiyathalaimurai TV’ on 20 March 2024, titled: ‘Discovery of Ancient Aimbon Nataraja Statue | Kanchipuram | PTT’ (translated from Tamil to English). According to this video, “a Nataraja idol was discovered in Sriperumbudur. The archaeology department was excavating in the premises of the Siva Kulundeswarar Temple in Sivan Koodal village, which is close to Sriperumbudur. The temple is one of the oldest in Tamil Nadu and was built hundreds of years ago. During the excavation, they discovered a trident and an old Nataraja idol. The idol was sent to Chennai for inspection where officials estimated that it was over a millennium old and composed of panchaloha.”
Additional reports regarding the discovery of the Ancient Nataraja idol can be seen here and here. Upon close examination, it becomes evident that the Nataraja statue unearthed in the YouTube video is different from the one that went viral. The news video shows a broken image, while the viral video shows an intact one. Based on this information, it is evident that the viral video does not depict the recent discovery of a Nataraja idol in excavations in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in March 2024.
To learn more about this viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the keyframes from the video. This search led us to a YouTube video uploaded by ‘KRB YT VLOG’ on 28 March 2024, which appears to be an extended version of the viral video titled ‘250-year-old treasure found with the help of a trolley – Cursed Treasure’ (translated from Hindi to English). However, upon close observation, the video appears to be scripted. Further examination of the YouTube channel revealed many scripted videos related to ghosts and supernatural powers. Some scripted videos uploaded by this channel can be seen here and here. From this, we can conclude that the viral video is scripted.
To sum up, while a Nataraja idol was discovered in Sriperumbudur during excavations at a temple, the viral video depicting the excavation of this idol is unrelated and scripted.
