A casual Sunday outing in the forests near the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border by an archaeologist resulted in a major discovery - a 2,000-plus year old mystery cave dating back to the Satavahana dynasty era. The cave is hidden and obviously in a secret location, 9 km from the nearest human habitat -- Chaugav village in Jalgaon district, said proud discoverer Bhujang R. Bobade, also a history scholar.

"We had actually gone to visit the ruins of the fort built there by Gavli kings, deep in the forested hills. Outside the main entrance of the fort, on the left side, there is a large cave with 2 entry points leading to different directions. This is where we made the new discovery," Bobade told IANS. The entry to the large cave is through a water tank measuring 8 by 2 feet, after which there are rock cut pillars, said Bobade, 38, the Director of Archives & Museum Department at the Deccan Archaelogical and Cultural Research Institute, Hyderabad.