Source: TH
Context: A team of history and archaeology scholars and students from the University of Mysore have embarked on an excavation of megalithic burial sites in Chamarajanagar district (Karnataka).
About Doddalathur megalithic site:
- Location: Doddalathur village, Hanur taluk, Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka. Situated in a small valley formed by the Male Mahadeshwara Hill ranges.
- Discovery: Identified by C. Krishnamurti of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1961.
- Period: The site corresponds to the Iron Age, broadly placed between 1200 BC and 300 CE in South India.
- Significance: Contains hundreds of megalithic burials characterized by circles made of large boulders. Many burials remain intact despite agricultural expansion and land development.
- Current excavation: Led by a team from the University of Mysore and the Mythic Society, Bengaluru, with a focus on understanding megalithic-iron age culture and providing field training to archaeology students.
About Megalithic sites:
- Definition: Megaliths are large stones used in prehistoric monuments or burial structures.
- Purpose: Constructed as burial sites or commemorative memorials (non-sepulchral).
- Burial types: Include dolmenoid cists, cairn circles, capstones, and urns or sarcophagi made of terracotta.
- Memorial types: Include non-sepulchral sites such as menhirs.
- Types of Megalithic structures:
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- Stone circles (Cromlechs): Circular arrangements of stones, sometimes used as burial markers.
- Dolmen: A chamber formed by placing a large capstone on support stones, often used as tombs.
- Cist: A small stone-built coffin-like box used to hold bodies, often placed underground.
- Monolith: Single standing stones, sometimes used as markers or commemorative symbols.
- Capstone style: Single horizontal stones placed over burial chambers without support stones.
- Timeline: Most megaliths in India date to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), with some predating this period up to 2000 BC.
- Geographic spread: Found throughout Peninsular India, especially in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
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