The temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri in Orissa state is now more than 800 years old. It is not only a world famous monument but in addition it has great religious sentiments attached to it. Due to its old age the condition of this cultural heritage is deteriorating. The poor quality of stone used in its construction and the hostile environmental conditions are adding to the decaying process of the temple. Several cracks have appeared, through which the water is flowing freely and stones are falling down from various places.

Corbel arches have been used in the temple, as in those days, not many other designs were available. Very large stones have also been falling from the corbelled arches of the Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum) from time to time. The whole state of affairs is causing great concern.

A brief description of the temple and its historical background has been given. The corbelled construction of arch along with the present state of aging has been described. The job requirements of the task of conservation have been spelled out. A line of action and the role of NDT, giving the advantages and limitations of various possible NDT techniques have been described in the paper. For the detection of cracks in the stones, the two promising techniques

• liquid penetrant inspection and
• ultrasonic inspection, have been described and the requirements for conducting these tests in relation to the Puri temple have been spelled out.