KADAPA: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Epigraphy Branch, has copied 1,000 inscriptions from various regions across the country in the financial year 2024-25.
Director of Epigraphy at ASI, Dr K Munirathnam Reddy, said inscriptions are crucial for historical documentation and emphasised efforts to compile them into books.
“Inscriptions tell us what history should be written. We are making historical, cultural, and traditional knowledge accessible to future generations and research scholars,” he said. ASI continues to document inscriptions, with two teams currently working in Perungani and Allur in Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil Nadu, and Vishwanagar and Hathras in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh.
A team led by Munirathnam, along with Siddavatam Forest Ranger K Kalavathi and ASI experts from Chennai and Bengaluru, conducted a study in Lanka Malla Wildlife Sanctuary.
Between 27 February and 1 March, the team explored the forest regions of Siddavatam, Konduru, Rolabodu, and Madduru in Kadapa district.
They discovered 25 rare inscriptions and rock engravings dating from the 4th to the 15th century. For the first time in South India, rare label inscriptions and Shankha script inscriptions were found in the Lanka Malla forest region.