March 11, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 7, 1424

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LUCKNOW, March 10: Indian archaeologists surveyed the site of the demolished Babri mosque in Ayodhya on Monday before excavating ruins that have sparked some of India’s worst communal clashes.

A high court last week gave the Archaeological Survey of India four weeks to excavate the site to find out whether a temple for the Hindu god-king Ram existed under the ruins of the 16th-century mosque that Hindu fanatics razed in 1992.

“The real excavating will possibly begin either Tuesday or Wednesday,” a senior archaeological survey official said at Ayodhya, 130kms from Lucknow.

Eleven years ago, 3,000 people died in the worst communal riots since 1947 after a Hindu mob tore down the Babri mosque.

Hindus allege the mosque was built by Mughal emperor Babar after he destroyed a temple built on the birthplace of Ram, one of the most revered deities in the Hindu pantheon.

The archaeological survey official said some of the digging could be done with earth movers.

“But much of the deeper excavation will have to be done by hand because with machines you may miss out or damage important artifacts,” said the official, adding the team might not be able to meet the court deadline because the job was so big.

“I don’t think it’s possible to complete the task in a month,” he said.

After the mosque’s destruction, Hindu militants built a makeshift temple atop the rubble, but the supreme court has banned a permanent structure until the issue of whether a temple existed is resolved.—Reuters