Archaeologists to visit Maruthom forest area

Block of 20 ancient stone sculptures discovered

April 24, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:43 am IST - KASARAGOD:

Sculptures that are believed to be of the Neolithic Age in the Maruthom forests, close to Ranipuram hill resorts, in Kasaragod.

Sculptures that are believed to be of the Neolithic Age in the Maruthom forests, close to Ranipuram hill resorts, in Kasaragod.

Experts from the State Archaeological Department will visit the Maruthom forest area in Balal panchayat here on Sunday to study the ancient monuments discovered there.

The visit of the experts comes close on the heels of a verification made on the spot by a group of archaeology enthusiasts led by Nandakumar Koroth and C.P. Rajeevan from the History Department of the Nehru Arts and Science College, Kanhangad.

They had found a block of 20 stone sculptures with crude forms of images in hard stone, near the upcoming Ranipuram Hill resorts.

The stone sculptures looked like the pillars of a massive cave, Dr. Koroth said.

Soil erosion

The entrance to the cave is damaged following soil erosion over the decades.

Scripts, including Tamil and Brahmi, are found on the pillars.

The lack of megalithic monuments such as cists, dolmens and umbrella stones in the surroundings suggested that the Maruthom archaeological site belonged to the Neolithic age, he said.

Lot of crude imprints of animals such as elephant, dogs, cows and wild animals were found carved on the rocks.

The uniqueness of the site was noted some 15 years ago by local people who believed that the spot had some religious significance, he said.

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