The inventory of valuables stored in the Bhitara Ratna Bhandar, inner chamber of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, commenced on Monday.
The documentation by a team of goldsmiths, representatives of the Reserve Bank of India, and temple priests is being conducted for the first time since 1978.
The team constituted by the Odisha government catalogued 20 types of ornaments on the first day of the inventory. Each item is being weighed and documented using 3D mapping.
The team is using a colour-coded system to categorise the jewellery. While gold ornaments are being wrapped in yellow velvet, silver and precious items are being stored in white and red clothing respectively. Each bag is assigned a unique serial number.
The inventory will continue until all ornaments are cross-verified with the 1978 list, which recorded that the chamber held 367 gold ornaments weighing 43.64 kg and 231 silver ornaments weighing 148 kg.
