Pudukkottaia: A team of Archeological Research Forum of Pudukkottai led by its founder A. Manikandan has found strange stone rings at Sevalur panchayat forest area in Pudukkottai district, recently. ‘Stone ring’ or ‘stone circle’ is “a circular alignment of standing stones”, say archaeology experts.
Mr. Manikandan said in a release here on Tuesday that they explored the 10-acre area and discovered seven ‘megalithic era cairn rings, with dolmenoid cist structure’.
Mr. Manikandan who is also a research scholar in the department of Ancient Science, Tamil University, Thanjavur, said the cairn rings located at the Melachungadu forest, at the foothills of Nedumalai, Malayadippatti is worshipped by the locals with reverence.
The tree temple is known as Mokkandi temple. The locals have dismantled and shifted the Megalithic stone rings and the flat stone slabs are used as the ‘altar’ of the temple, he added. The other two stone rings left untouched and they remain in complete shape.
Trees and other bush plants thrive inside the circle. This ancient structure is also worshipped by the locals. There are five more stone rings in the north and southern parts of the temple.
Unlike the Northern districts, the southern districts do not have the practice of worshiping megalithic cairn rings. In Southern districts, people worship tree temples and spears, clay replicas. This makes the discovery even more important, that the local people have a culture preserved in time.
Ancient Tamil Literature like Akanaanooru, Puranaanooru, Aingurnooru, refers to the stone rings and the way they are worshipped. Ancient Tamils honoured their leaders and men with great velour by erecting them a stone ring, he added.
He stressed that it is important to study the findings through scientific methods like carbon dating and extensive genetic study.
The world has a universal culture and custom during the megalithic era. The era is named as Megalithic era. Menhir, ‘Hero stones and stone rings’ are part of this culture. Men with importance were buried in these stone rings. Ancient people used iron tools to shape the stones so these structures are also related to the Iron Age.
The stone rings of England and Ireland dates back to 2,500 BCE to 1,500 BCE. In northeastern France, we have stone rings which date back to 5,000 BCE, he claimed.
