RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: An ancient rock art site dating back to the mesolithic era was discovered at Ramappagutta, a hillock located close to Nampally town in the Rajanna-Sircilla district by the members of Kotha Telangana Charithara Brundam (KTCB). Estimated to be at least 10,000 years old, this rock art having paintings of two snakes, three tortoises, human figures and grass was found by A Karunakar and Joel of the KTCB.
While these paintings were found intact, many others were erased due to rain and sun exposure. No tools were found at the site. Speaking about this discovery, S Haragopal, Convener of the KTCB, said that the lack of paintings of weapons attributes this art to the mesolithic era.
“Early humans were conscious of the threats they would have faced by wild animals, so they stayed on higher altitudes. As they started developing weapons made of stones, they started descending to lower altitudes, making rock beds and caves as their shelters. This particular site is located atop the hillock at a very high altitude, which points to times before the neolithic age,” he told Express.
Similar discoveries were made at Kukunoorpally and Thimmareddipally villages in Siddipet district in the past, where the rock art sites were located atop the hillocks, whereas the site found in Wargal near Gajwel is located close to the base of the hillock, which is a neolithic rock art site. In the past, inside a cave at the base of a hillock in Vattimalla village of Konaraopet mandal in Sircilla, paintings of a tiger and other figures were discovered.