During restoration work at Karkoot Nag spring in the Salia area of Aishmuqam, Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, workers uncovered several stone idols and Shivlings engraved with deity imagery. Local officials confirmed the discovery, which was made while the Public Works Department was renovating the sacred spring.

Following the find, representatives from the J&K Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums visited the site. The recovered artefacts are being transferred to Shri Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar for material analysis and carbon dating to establish their age and provenance.

Locals and Kashmiri Pandit communities believe the site might have ties to the Karkoota dynasty, which ruled Kashmir in the early medieval period. Oral history suggests a temple once stood near the spring, and that these idols may have been preserved or hidden during past decline.

Situated just 16 km from Anantnag town, Karkoot Nag has traditionally been a pilgrimage centre, where devotees paid homage to the sacred water. The rediscovery has sparked renewed calls from locals to protect the idols and rebuild a temple at the site, to honour its religious and archaeological significance.