Patil, along with two companions, was busy tilling his modest field in Sarvali village in Bhiwandi tehsil of Thane district. When his spade struck what appeared to be large pieces of buried stone, little did they realise that they were about to unravel a part of history.

As eager hands scooped the dirt away, two exquisitely crafted idols of Lord Vishnu were revealed. The discovery was made on the auspicious occasion of `Sankasti Chaturthi' which the villagers took to be a good omen.

Immediately, the priests were called in, who pronounced the idols to be very ancient, but being in an excellent state of preservation, fit to be worshipped. Accordingly, the idols were moved with due reverence to Patil's house. When a third idol was recovered from the fields later on an `Ekadashi' day, it was also brought to thesame house. Since then daily poojas are being performed. Meanwhile, the archaeology department officials, after seeing the idols, say that these belong to the period of the Shilahara dynasty that ruled over north Konkan from 910 AD to 1260 AD.

The findings at Sarvali village may throw new light on the Shilahara rulers, they said.