A team of archaeologists from the Virarajendran Archaeological and Historical Research Centre in Tiruppur found three hero stones dating to the 12th century at Annur in the Coimbatore district.
Speaking to TNIE, Team Director of the Centre S Ravi Kumar said, "We got information that a hero stone was found near the compound wall of Manneswarar Siva temple in Annur town in Coimbatore. To our surprise, we also found another hero stone along the bank of the temple tank and a third hero stone was found inside the temple tank.
All the hero stones weighed more than 200 kilograms. The first hero stone was 90 cm in height and 40 cm in width. It was sculpted in the form of self-sacrifice. Hero offered his head for the welfare of his community, with two sharp small knives in both hands. This kind of sculpture and tradition is known as 'Thalaipali Sirpam' in Tamil."
"The second hero stone measures 80 cm in height and 40 cm in width. Here, the hero holds the bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right hand and a small sword on his hip. This hero stone is known as 'Vilviran Sirpam' in Tamil. The third hero stone measures 95 cm in height and 45 cm in width. There are two warriors in the entire stone.
One hero is seen attacking his opponent warrior with a sword and holding a bow in his left hand. The opponent also holds a bow in both of his hands. There are no inscriptions on these hero stones. Based on the carving style and posture, these stones could be dating back to the 12th century in Annur in the Coimbatore district. With help of former Annur town panchayat president A Soundar Raj, we cleaned and placed the hero stone inside the Dharmarasa temple. The temple is located behind Manneswarar Siva temple," he added.