Madurai: Rock art, rare petroglyphs, and rock beds have been found by archeology enthusiasts in a cave in the Devankurichi Hills near T Kallupatti in Madurai. These were found during a field trip by archaeological researcher and coordinator of Pandiyanadu Panpaatu Maiyam D Muneeswaran and his team including Professor Lakshmanamoorthy, Aswathaman and researcher Anantha Kumaran.
Muneeswaran said T Kallupatti was located on an important trade route between the Chera kingdom and the southern part of Tamil Nadu. The cave which is 15 feet long and four feet wide has been called “Ponthu parai”, meaning rock with a hole, by locals. The rock art on the interior walls is evidence that the cave was inhabited, but the paintings have almost been erased due to inclement weather.
The cave had been prepared for elaborately inhabited, then abandoned.
There are white drawings depicting a hunting scene and the animal is depicted with a long neck. There are line drawings of human figures, some in dance poses, as well as symbols. At the western end of the cave there are three rock beds measuring 5ft x 2ft. There is a drain-like structure at the entrance to the cave which may have been used to prevent rainwater from entering.
The cave also contains petroglyphs, which are carvings or carvings in the rock left behind. Petroglyphs are created by carving, scraping, or carving the walls of rock using hard hammers or iron tools. Here he is seen five feet above the ground and is three feet in length and three feet in width. It contains three rows of 17, 25 and 30 rows. On the left are drawings of a human body and an animal head. A female figure with an angled head bun is also visible. Petroglyphs have been found at Krishnagiri, Perumukkal and Thandarampattu.
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