HYDERABAD: In a major discovery, a team of Archaeologists from the Telangana State Department of Archaeology have excavated Megalithic burial sites with Menhir dating back to 1000 BC in Medak district.
The team unearthed nearly 50 megalithic burials with Menhir or huge standing stone arranged around them, during the excavation works at Pullur Banda village of Siddipet mandal.
The officials of Archaeology department revealed at a press meet on Wednesday, that more such burial sites have been sighted in hundreds of villages in various districts of Telangana. One of the unique features of the Megalithic culture of mid-Godvari valley is the cruciform monolith in male and female forms as statue-Menhirs.
A rare anthropomorphic statue which features clear human anatomical structure was also found at one of the burial sites. During excavations, the archaeologists also found a human skeleton with complete scull. The officials are planning to send it for scientific tests to decide its exact age.
Among the other findings during the past two months, is an ancient manuscript written in Nagari script. The script is similar to modern Telugu script and is partially readable.
B Venkatesham, secretary of Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture department, said, “It is likely to be a 200 to 300 years old manuscript.” It was found by a school girl during Swachh Bharat programme conducted at a school in Kondamallepally village of Nalgonda district.
The department also collected 40 gold coins dating back to Vijayanagara period on Wednesday.
These coins were initially found by labourers at Garlabayyaram village of Khammam district. One of them approached police after a dispute with fellow labourers over sharing the coins. The police later collected the coins from the labourers and handed over them to the Archaeology department.
Interacting with the press persons, the officials stated that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments will soon initiate the process of bifurcating the antiquities between the two States.