3,000-year-old monument faces neglect in Palnadu district

Vijayawada: Monuments of Iron Age (3000-year-old) were found under serious threat of extinction in Palnadu district. The Iron Age memorials lying in utter neglect in a locality called Muggudinne Kaluva, on the right bank of River Krishna on the outskirts of Gangalakunta village in Veldurti mandal.

Dr E Sivanagireddy, archaeologist and CEO, Pleach India Foundation, on information visited the village and explored the monument. He said the memorials represent the cist burial category in which the dead were interred inside a stone chamber arranged below the ground level within a circular structure. The structure is 5.0 metres in diameter and 2.0 metres in height over which river rolled pebbles were heaped up in hemispherical shape.

Dr Sivanagireddy said the huge stone slabs (varying in height from 5.0 to 8.0 metres with a width of 1.5 metres and 0.15 metres thickness were erected towards the north side of the burial structures. He said eight metres high menhir at the site is one of the biggest in the state.

After a thorough exploration of the entire area spread in an extent of 3.0 sq km, Sivanagireddy found that the burials are damaged for laying water pipelines from river Krishna and mining (now stopped). He sensitised the local farmers and the shepherds on the archaeological significance of the structures and appealed to preserve them for posterity.

P Srinath Reddy, archaeologist and Ramesh from Macharla have accompanied Sivanagireddy.

Based on the information given by P Satish Babu, an amateur historian of Macharla, Dr Sivanagireddy explored the historical monument on Wednesday. On enquiry from Nemalitoka Mallayya, a farmer of the same village, Dr Reddy informed that there were 1000 megalithic burials and Menhirs (Stones planted in memory of the dead) 20 years ago. Now only a few hundreds are seen and mostly were dozed out by the local people who are not aware of their historical importance of the monument which is dated back to 1000 BC.