Precious stones, jewellery, gold and silver estimated to be worth several billion dollars have been found in the secret underground vaults of an ancient temple in southern India, a temple official said on Saturday.
An 18-foot-long necklace, 536kg of 18th century gold coins, diamond-studded plates, rubies and emeralds were found in the vaults of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, the Hindustan Times reported.
The vaults were opened after the Supreme Court ordered the state government to take over the temple's assets from a trust controlled by the royal family of Travancore