Unique Megalithic-Era Cave Discovered In Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada

Megalithic culture was prevailing in south India and known for its unpredictable internment designs.

Archaeologist discovered a cave (Source: File photo/Getty)

New Delhi: A team led by T Murugeshi, associate professor and top of the division of history and archaeology, MSRS College at Shirva in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada region, discovered a unique burial site from the Megalithic time frame (800 BC to 500 BC).

This is most likely the principal rock etching tracing all the way back to the Megalithic time frame found in the Dakshina Kannada locale, Murugeshi said in the release.

The megalithic culture was prevailing in south India and is known for its unpredictable internment designs.

Unique rock-cut cave from Megalithic period (800 BC to 500 BC) found at government cashew plantation in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district

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"Usually, Megalithic burial sites are marked by stone circles and menhirs. But in the cave found near Ramakunja, a sepulcher is marked by a circle or zero. It brings up interesting questions like did the Megalithic people know about zero?" he said.

No huge articles were found inside the cavern yet at its middle, a special raised area like a pit has been seen while little bits of red, dark, and red stoneware were observed dispersed in the cavern, the teacher said, adding that the cavern was most presumably robbed by certain local people.

Previously, the south-west coast of Karnataka and Kerala had recorded an extremely exceptional sort of Megalithic-like stone cut caves, scooped out in the laterite earth.

"Normally, a 2.5 ft or 3 ft circular opening in the centre is cut into the laterite soil about a metre deep and the bottom is cut into a hemispherical shape. These types of rock-cut caves are common in south-west coast of Karnataka. A small variation is found in Kerala, with side openings in the sub-surface, but central opening was common in both the cases," he said.

Murugeshi said a team of students worked for two days in finding details from the cave.

(With PTI inputs)