TIRUVANNAMALAI: Tiruvannamalai Centre for Historical Research (TCHR), a district-level society formed to conduct research on archaeological findings and document them in the district, has recently found ‘Petroglyph’ — prehistoric rock carvings — on a hillock near the banks of Thenpennai river at Thondamanur village in Tiruvannamalai’s Thandrampattu.
According to TCHR Secretary S Balamurugan, this is only the second time that Petroglyph has been found in TN; the first one being at Perumukkal in Tindivanam.
The carvings depict a deer-like figure, a human figure, and various straight and curved lines, the meanings of which are indecipherable, the secretary said. The carvings are 10 feet in length and width and have cup marks near to them, he said. A study by research scholar Gandhi Rajan suggests that the carvings are believed to be over 3,000-5,000 years old. TCHR urged officials of the State archaeological department to preserve the carvings.