An archaeologist examins a rock-cut burial chamber throughout a salvage excavation at Nagaparamba, close to Kerala’s Tirunavaya. Photo: Special Arrangement
A lot of megalithic hat stones had been discovered from a single site throughout a latest archaeological salvage excavation performed by the State Archaeology Department at Nagaparamba in Kuttippuram village, close to Tirunavaya, in the district.
Hat stones, popularly known as Thoppikkallu in Malayalam, are hemispherical laterite stones used as lid on burial urns through the megalithic interval.
Archaeologists say it may arguably be the biggest variety of hat stones in an unprotected site in the State. Many hat stones are feared to have been destroyed inadvertently by the native folks in latest occasions. Some of the native folks say they’d no concept concerning the archaeological relevance of the hat stones and plenty of had been destroyed after they cleared their land for home development.
“We need to conduct a detailed survey and document the finds as well as the site,” says archaeologist Okay. Krishnaraj, officer in cost of the Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, Kozhikode, who led the latest salvage excavation.
Burial websites
A lot of megalithic burial websites and relics had been discovered at Nagaparamba through the salvage excavation. Mr. Krishnaraj and colleagues had been known as in when a novel rock minimize laterite burial chamber was discovered throughout a pipeline work. They salvaged numerous earthen urns and iron implements with distinctive options, which may ostensibly throw gentle on the life and tradition of people that lived in these components greater than 2,000 years in the past.
“The architectural features of the rock cut cave are different. The pots we recovered too are different from the usual urns found in such sites,” says Mr. Krishnaraj.
Ashes had been discovered in the pots recovered from the chamber in addition to from below the hat stones. “We used to get cremated bones from the urns. The ashes we found are special,” says Mr. Krishnaraj.
The native folks of Tirunavaya and its neighbourhoods are excited concerning the hemispherical hat stones recovered from Nagaparamba. Even when demanding the preservation of the archaeological site, they are saying Tirunavaya deserves a heritage standing.
“The government should consider the historic significance of Tirunavaya on the banks of the Bharathapuzha and declare it as a heritage village,” says Salman Karimbanakkal, a instructor and archaeology fanatic.
