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Recent excavations astatine Doddalathur successful Chamarajanagar territory person revealed caller insights into aboriginal megalithic burial civilization and traditions successful confederate Karnataka, including antithetic layouts and uncommon engravings connected boulders.
Doddalathur, located successful Hanur taluk and 5 km southwest of Kowdalli, is 1 of the fewer surviving megalithic landscapes successful the portion wherever a ample fig of burials stay intact.
Although implicit 40 sites successful the loop were archetypal recorded successful the 1960s by archaeologist C. Krishnamurthi, the contiguous excavation marks are 1 of the fewer systematic investigations of specified sites undertaken successful Karnataka successful caller decades.
Latest excavation
The tract enactment and excavations were carried retired from October 2024 to February 2025, led by Dr. V. Shobha of the Department of Studies successful Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, successful collaboration with the Mythic Society, Bengaluru, which is backing the project.
According to Dr. Shobha, the excavation workout – which was co-directed by C.B. Patil, retired serviceman of ASI – led to the opening of 13 burials, comprising chromatic circles and cairn circles, constructed with earthy boulders of varying diameters. Four contained cists, oregon stone-slab chambers, portion the remainder were urn burials.
“In the megalithic burials, the accustomed burial repertoire includes pottery known as black-and-red ware, achromatic ware and reddish ware, and robust objects. ‘’These were besides recovered successful immoderate of the burials that were excavated astatine Doddalathur, successful summation to skeletal and carnal remains and a fewer beads,” she added.
The megalithic burial tract adjacent Hanur successful Chamarajanagar territory that was excavated. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Iron object
These findings formed the halfway of an accumulation inaugurated connected Monday (November 24, 2025) astatine the University of Mysore arsenic portion of World Heritage Week 2025. The astir absorbing discovery, according to researchers, is that of an robust object, which is circular successful signifier with 2 loops connected either sides and resembles an robust shield. This was recovered successful relation with robust weapons similar axe, arrow and a two-pronged sword portion the aforesaid burial has quality figures engraved connected the boulders. Underlining its importance, Dr. Shobha said this is important due to the fact that stone creation is uncommon successful this portion of Karnataka
Charcoal samples from some urn and cist contexts were dated done AMS Carbon-14 analysis, placing the burials betwixt the 6th period BCE and the 4th period CE, a timeframe accordant with megalithic concern phases elsewhere successful peninsular India, she added.
Filling a gap
Scholars astatine the lawsuit noted that contempt Karnataka’s agelong archaeological record, large-scale, university-led excavations of megalithic sites stay uncommon owed to backing constraints. The Doddalathur project, they said, not lone fills a longstanding spread successful determination Iron Age studies but besides underscores the request for sustained organization enactment for excavations and practice research.
The exbibition volition beryllium unfastened to nationalist till November 28.
