written during the 19th century by Tamil scholar Masilamanipillai Muttucumaru on the temple and the Thirukonasala Vaipavam on Koneswaram was written by V. Akilesapillai in 1889, published sixty years later in 1952. Idol recovery, ruins and 20th-century reconstruction In 1950, the Urban Council of Trincomalee recovered a number of the original shrine's statues buried five hundred yards from the Koneswaram site. The discovery occurred during digging for a water well. The statues are of gold and copper alloy bronze and are believed to be from the tenth century CE. They depict a seated figure of Shiva (in the form of Somaskanda), Shiva as Chandrasekhar, his consort goddess Parvati, the goddess Mathumai Ambal and Lord Ganesh. They were taken in procession around the region before being reinstalled at Koneswaram. Other Koneswaram statues that survived remain at the Ati Konanayakar temple. A pillar from the original temple stands under a decorated Vilvam (Aegle marmelos) tree on Swami Rock. In 1956, while scuba diving, photographer Mike Wilson and author Arthur C. Clarke discovered ruins from the sunken original temple spread on the shallow surrounding sea-bed. Relics found by Wilson and Clarke included masonry, architecture, idol images, carved columns with flower insignias, and stones in the form of elephant heads. These ruins, as well as the pillar on Swami Rock, display Tamil, Pallava, and Chola architectural influence of the 3rd–9th century era. Corroborated by the discovery of Pallava Grantha and Chola script inscriptions and Hindu images found in the premises, this suggests that the dynasties took a keen interest in the temple. Wilson and Clarke also retrieved the legendary Swayambhu lingam from the ocean floor. According to legend, this large natural stone obelisk was one of 69 naturally occurring lingams from time immemorial originally found on Mount Kailash of Tibet and housed in Koneswaram by King Raavan – his most sacred power object from mythological times. This lingam was reinstalled at the Koneswaram site. Publishing their findings in the 1957 book The Reefs of Taprobane, Clarke expresses admiration for Swami rock's three thousand year veneration by Hindus. Identifying at least three Hindu temples as having been built on and around Swami rock, Clarke describes the tenth-century CE Koneswaram idols as "among the finest examples of Hindu bronze sculpture known to exist", the seated Shiva Chola bronze "a masterpiece" and the battered stone work at the foot of Swami Rock as "probably the most photographed