HYDERABAD: Recently, the work undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to turn the prehistoric burial site at Janampet in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri into a megalithic park was stopped by villagers claiming the said land belonged to them. It will, however, resume soon. This development comes after the ASI sought the help of Bhadradri Kothagudem district collectorate on the matter.
The superintending archaeologist of ASI-Hyderabad MK Chauley, in a letter to the district collector of Bhadradri Kothagudem, wrote, “...this office had started the construction of a boundary wall on September 27, 2019, around the prehistoric megalithic burial at Janampet. But it has been reported that some villagers have stopped the works.”
“...it is requested to your good office to kindly see that the works can be restarted at the earliest, so that fencing can be completed by this financial year...without any local interference,” Chauley added in his letter. Consequently, the collectorate reportedly held meetings with the sarpanch and villagers and urged them not to pose any obstruction to the ASI’s works.
The ASI, with the help of the district collectorate, had identified 14 acres of land around the burial site as old as 3rd century BC. WAPCOS Limited, a PSU under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, was assigned the job of raising a boundary wall around the site. However, though they began the works, it was stopped by the villagers.
Chauley said that the need for a boundary wall arose because treasure hunters have been excavating the burial ground in search of precious gems, thereby destroying the sites. Apart from that, since a village has grown around the burial ground, people have begun using it for odd jobs. For instance, the monolithic sarcophagus was being used by villagers as a washing slab.
The superintending archaeologist said, “According to the report by Khawaja Muhammad Ahmad in the Annual Report of Archaeological Department in the Nizam’s government, the site had 2000-4000 burials, making it one of the largest in the country.” The site holds importance because, as an ASI brief notes, “The assemblage of the monuments of this period was a well-organised feat of engineering and management of power. The stone dressing, especially the monolithic sarcophagus, which were placed inside the dolmens would have required specialised craftsmanship.”