Tirupati’s megalithic burial sites in a state of neglect

Tirupati’s megalithic burial sites in a state of neglect

Subject: Art and Culture 

Context:

• Anthropomorphic sites are those marked by a representation of human form above the megalithic Tirupati district is dotted with anthropomorphic burial sites, said to be the largest as a collection in Andhra Pradesh.
• Among these, the most prominent one is the ‘pillared dolmen’ of the megalithic era, found at Mallayyagaripalle, nestling on a hillock between Chandragiri and Dornakambala, 20 km from Tirupati. The structure locally referred to as ‘Pandava Gullu’ or ‘Pandavula Banda’ in memory of the Pandavas, is estimated to be 2,500 years old.
• This could be an indication to the presence of humans living in groups during the megalithic period (300–500 BC) in this region.
• The pillared dolmen with rock art beneath the capstone at Mallayyagaripalle came under threat owing to granite mining in the vicinity. The Mallayyagaripalle structure is a cist burial chamber. Such chambers are built by arranging slabs neatly broken from huge stones at a time when there were no proper tools.
• There is another endangered megalith monument in Palem village near Kallur, which resembles a bull’s horn. Called locally as ‘Devara Yeddhu’
• Yet another type of a megalithic burial site is the ‘stone circle’, where the tomb is surrounded by round stones arranged in a circle. One such site in Venkatapuram, 15 km east of Tirupati near Karakambadi,
• The megalithic people’s staunch belief in life after death and the travel embarked by soul to other worlds. the megalithic people used to keep food and tools inside the chamber for use by the dead person.

While “megalith” is often used to describe a single piece of stone, it also can be used to denote one or more rocks hewn in a definite shape for special purposes. It has been used to describe structures built by people from many parts of the world living in many different periods.

Some types of Megalith structures are given below:

• Menhir: Menhir is the name used in Western Europe for a single upright stone erected in prehistoric times; sometimes called a “standing stone”. a tall or grand structure erected in memory of a dead person.
• Monolith: Any single standing stone erected in prehistoric times. Sometimes synonymous with “megalith” and “menhir”; for later periods, the word monolith is more likely to be used to describe single stones.
• Capstone style: Single megaliths placed horizontally, often over burial chambers, without the use of support stones.
• Stone circles: In most languages, stone circles are called “cromlechs” (a word in the Welch language); the word “cromlech” is sometimes used with that meaning in English.
• Dolmen: A Dolmen is a megalithic form created by placing a large capstone on two or more support stones creating a chamber below, sometimes closed in on one or more sides. Often used as a tomb or burial chamber.
• Cist: Cist is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Burials are megalithic forms very similar to dolmens in structure. These type of burials were completely underground. There were single- and multiple-chambered cists.