Rock Art Shelter Added To State’s Ancient Heritage List
The shelter features paintings of five wild bulls with large and wide horns
Hyderabad: A new site has been added to the list of rock art sites in Telangana, following the discovery of a rock shelter with ancient paintings at Kistapuram in Medak’s Kolcharam mandal. The finding was made during an exploration by Macha Pranay Kumar, a researcher and member of the Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam.
The shelter features paintings of five wild bulls with large and wide horns resembling aurochs or bison-like figures depicted in red pigment. Several other paintings have faded and are in an unrecognisable state. In addition, a few microlithic tools were also found at the location.
According to Dr Bandi Muralidhar Reddy, rock art expert and an adviser to the brundam, and Sriramoju Haragopal, convener, these paintings resemble the figures depicted in the rock shelters of Kokapet and Gundla Pochampally, near Hyderabad.
As microliths were also found at the site, they said these paintings can be dated to the Mesolithic period, approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years old.