Masilamani Nathar temple, Tranquebar 2007
The oldest building in Tranquebar is the Masilamani Nathar temple, which was built in 1305 at behest of the Pandyan king Maravarman Kulasekaran. Today only a part of the temple remains, due to the continual coastal erosion, which has gradually immersed several streets of the town in the sea and has caused a large part of the temple to collapse. Further erosion has been halted by the boulders which have been placed as coastal protection after the tsunami which occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004.