TIRUPPUR: The Tamil Nadu government is set to notify a 26-foot menhir at Kumarikkalpalayam in Kavuthampalayam village, Tiruppur district, as one of the state’s protected monuments under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.
In this regard, Commissioner of the State Department of Archaeology, T Udhayachandran, has written to Tiruppur District Collector T Christuraj, requesting a formal proposal for the declaration. The directive follows a report submitted by archaeologists who inspected the site in Uthukuli block and confirmed the menhir’s historical significance.
Believed to be from the megalithic period, the towering granite monument is regarded as one of the tallest menhirs in the country. Locally known as the ‘Kumarikkal menhir’, it is also referenced in the 249th verse of Akananuru, a Sangam-era classical Tamil anthology. Similar structures have previously been documented in Kodumanal in Erode district and in Udumalai, within Tiruppur district.
Highlighting the archaeological importance of the site, Udhayachandran noted in his letter, “The menhir in Kumarikkalpalayam is a significant find. In addition to this, we have uncovered stone circles, urn burials and various pot structures that can be traced back to early historic times.”