KARIMNAGAR: The tiny village of Potlapalli in Husnabad mandal has catapulted to prominence again for the megalithic burials (rakasi gullu) found in it. The megaliths dating back to 1,000 years were found by the Archaeology department at Ellammagutta on the outskirts of Potlapalli, two days ago, following a complaint that granite mafia was destroying the historical hillock.
Megalithic burial is a typical mode of disposing the dead. In 1996, a 'swayambhu sivalingam' was found in the same village when a farmer began digging for construction of his house. Telangana Bhumi Rakshana Samiti and Manair Writers Association had complained to the collector and revenue divisional authorities about the damage to the megalithic burials by granite mafia and the officials wrote a letter to the Archaeology department.
Following directions from department assistant director N Mallikarjuna Rao, a three-member team visited Ellammagutta and found 10 megaliths on the hillock. "Of them, four were lugged out to lay road to the hillock illegally," he said, adding that remaining megaliths were demarcated for protection.
Showing the pictures of the megalithic complex to this paper on Wednesday, Phalguna Rao said that each of the megalith had a circumference of 100 feet and a diameter of 33 feet.
"We went to Potlapalli gram panchayat office to know about the illegal road but it was closed on that day. We will visit it again in a few days," he said. elangana Rachayitala Vedika district president Sankepalli Nagendra Sarma said mining mafia damaged the megalithic site.