City professor takes up research on missing protected pre-historic megaliths in Vidarbha Dr Prabash Sahu A pre-historic stone circle at one of the sites in Nagpur District. By Shirish Borkar : SEVERAL Megalithic burial sites popularly known as stone circles in Vidarbha declared protected by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have now disappeared. Even the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in his earlier report on performance audit of preservation and conservation of monuments and antiquities under Ministry of Culture had mentioned several missing megalithic monuments declared protected by Central Government in Vidarbha including stone circles at Arsoda group of 20 cromlechs at Chamorshi in Gadchiroli district stone circles at Neeldoh and Takalghat in Nagpur district raising questions about the state of preservation of these ancient burial sites. “If this could happen to the protected sites what about those which are neither protected by the Central Government nor by the State?” questioned the CAG in his report No 18 of 2013. With an aim to document the known megalithic monuments in Vidarbha both explored and excavated Dr Prabash Sahu Associate Professor Post Graduate Teaching Department of Ancient History Culture & Archaeology RTM Nagpur University has now undertaken a research project On the Trails of Vanishing Megalithic Monuments in Vidarbha: Ignorance or Vandalism to study the reasons for their disappearance. Dr Sahu would study the reasons of the disappearance of these pre-historic monuments as there were different threats like political enthic or religious conflicts greed for land illicit trafficking deterioration wanton destruction ignorance and impact of urbanism to our cultural heritage. These megalithic monuments mostly hundreds of stone circles in Vidarbha were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials during prehistoric times. The first stone circle was found and excavated at Bangla Motta Param North Kerala in 1823. The second-third excavation was carried out by J H Rivett-Carnac in 1879 yielding a variety of iron objects including daggers flat axes with cross-ring fasteners hoes rings bracelets horse bits chisels with long blades and pointed tongs possibly covered with a wooden handle. There is also evidence of black and red pottery such as bowls featuring linear paintings in black. The burial sites in Vidarbha are usually characterised by cairns. About 150 stone circles have been studied and documented. A notable feature is the cup-marked stones in the circles which according to some scholars might suggest an astronomical significance. Some of these structures have been designated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as monuments of national importance. In India archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 AD) though some sites precede the Iron Age extending up to 2000 BC. In Vidarbha region these sites date back to 7th century BC to 3rd Century BC. Some of the sites were excavated such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers) cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala). Some of these contained the human physical remains too. The megalithic monuments containing an urn or the sarcophagus bearing the mortal remains were usually made of terracotta. Speaking to The Hitavada Dr Sahu said that his research methodology include doctrinal or empirical based on field study explorations and field study evidence from published literature and on-field work and identification of problems and prospects of preservation. “Ours is one of the most ancient civilisations in the world with long traditions and cultures. These are reflected in our ancient heritage including the megalithic monuments” he added. Dr Sahu said that disappearance of megalithic monuments in the region was a cause of concern. “I expect my study will throw the light on the problem at hand and suggest suitable remedies to preserve them for the posterity” he added.

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