Stone Age ‘Dolmens’ excavated in Yelwal

Mysuru: In a significant archaeological discovery, Stone Age relics that date back to over 3000 years have been found at Kallur Naganahalli in Yelwal hobli of Mysuru taluk. There is an urgent need to protect these discoveries from marauding treasure hunters.

NSS volunteers of Government First Grade College, Kuvempunagar, who went on a excavation spree during a camp recently, stumbled upon seven ‘Dolmens’ covered with layers of earth, bushes and wild plants. 

NSS Officer Dr. S.G. Ramadasa Reddy, college faculty Charan Kumar and others were part of the excavation team. 

‘Dolmen’ is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more vertical megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or ‘table’. Megalithic sites are scattered all over southern India and are important sites for archaeologists and anthropologists trying to uncover the mysteries of the lives of our ancestors as they made the transition from the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) to the Iron Age.

Most of these ‘Dolmens’ date from the early Neolithic and sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus (pile). The megalithic and monolithic ‘Dolmens’ were found along the road leading from Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) to K.R. Nagar.

This site was built more than 3000 years ago and many of the megalithic structures are dated to between 800 BCE and 200 BCE. The Iron Age period spanned more than 1000 years from 1200 BCE to 200 CE.

BCE is Before the Common Era or Before the Current Era — the era before CE. BCE and CE are alternatives to the Dionysian BC and AD system respectively. The Dionysian era distinguishes eras using AD (Anno Domini, in the year of the Lord) and BC (Before Christ).

These seven stone age ‘Dolmens’ are in ‘L’ shape with three of them facing southwards and four others eastwards.

Each ‘Dolmen’ is 12 feet long and 8.5 feet wide and they are believed to be built out of the stone blocks available nearby.

These types of ‘Dolmens’ are found rarely in Karnataka, with similar structure found only at Somagudda in Challakere taluk of Chitradurga district. However, such monuments are also found in the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Kallur Naganahalli villagers said that people of the village worship the seven ‘Dolmens’ on ‘Amavasya’ Day that falls just after Shivaratri festival. 

Yoganna, a villager, said that there are 11 Veera Mastikallu and other rare stone sculptures in the village and the locality’s famous Bramhalingeshwara Temple dates back to the times of Hoysalas.

One of the major problems that the site faces is the marauding threat of treasure hunters. Most of the megalithic chambers found in Karnataka in the past had been robbed of their contents by people looking for hidden wealth. 

There is an urgent need to protect these structures from treasure hunters.