Lockdown leads TNEB employee to prehistoric cairn circles, pots

CHENNAI: Six months ago, when an illegal rock mining unit broke a prehistoric cairn circle near M Palani’s house, he and his friends protested. Even though they could stop the mining, it gave them ideas about the region which is known for many prehistoric materials. Palani wanted to explore the place, but he couldn’t do it only after the lockdown .

Stuck at his home in Kizhnamandi, a village in Thellar near Tindivanam since lockdown, Palani used his days productively, exploring his village. He found a red and black ware pot, pieces of an iron axe, cup-and-ring marked (a prehistoric art) stones and cairn circles. “As a child, I grew up listening to a lot of interesting stories that linked the village to the prehistoric era. Many believe that the region was used as a burial site during the prehistoric times. The lockdown, however, helped me find time to explore my village,” said Palani, who works with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board in Chennai.

Palani’s idea is to create awareness among people about the prehistoric materials. “The people in my village didn’t understand the purpose of cairn circles, which are used to indicate the place of burial chambers below. Many, including the illegal rock mining units, broke many cairn circles. But things have changed today. We were able to create awareness among people about their past. Now they are ready to preserve the materials,” said Palani.

When Palani began his search, he was alone. Soon his friend joined him. “My friends helped me a lot. I missed many cup-marked (cup and ring marks on rocks are considered a form of prehistoric art) stones, but they alerted me. It was teamwork,” he said.

The youth handed over the materials to the village administrative officer in the presence of the Tiruvannamalai tehsildar S Balamurugan. “I think archaeologists have found stones with cup and ring marks in places like Pudukkottai and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. The cup and ring marked stones found here are to be studied in detail,” said Balamurugan.

Even though Palani is happy with his role, he knows that the journey never ends. “I am not doing any excavation. I am just exploring my village to identify the significance of our past. The pandemic-imposed lockdown, however, helped me. I know I have to join duty, but I will continue my journey,” said Palani.