ASI keen on getting Menhir at Kumarikkalpalayam in Tiruppur district declared as centrally protected site of national importance

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has set in motion the process for protection and excavation of the 26-feet tall Menhir (large upright stone) and other associated archaeological remains located in Kumarikkalpalayam hamlet at Kaavunthampalayam Village in Uthukuli Taluk as a centrally protected site of national importance.

The Office of the Superintending Archaeology, ASI, Tiruchi, has forwarded proposals for protection and excavation to the Director General, ASI, New Delhi, official sources said.

During August, the ASI had sought from the Tiruppur district administration revenue records and joint survey for the purpose of declaring the Menhir as Centrally Protected Monument under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958.

The Revenue Department, it is learnt, is in the process of finalising the approach path to the Menhir in the village. Four paths were considered before narrowing down on one, Revenue Department officials said.

Delineation of the path will pave way for protecting the Menhir, an ASI official said.“Excavation at Kumarikkalpalayam will throw substantial light on megalithic age and iron age,” according to the ASI officials.

The State Government’s Archaeological Department also considers the ASI proposal of utmost importance.

During June, the Department of Archeology had assured that the 26-feet Menhir, a granite structure believed to belong to Megalithic period, will be declared as a protected monument under The Tamil Nadu Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1966 (Tamil NADU Act 25 OF 1966).

After a group of archaeologists inspected the site and confirmed its historical importance in a report to the Department of Archaeology, T. Udayachandran, Principal Secretary /Commissioner, Department of Archeology, who has been in the forefront of Keeladi excavations, had sought a proposal from the Tiruppur district administration for declaration of the ancient structure as a monument.

In their study, the group of archeologists had referred to the mention of the Menhir in the 249th verse of Akananuru, a Sangam-era classical Tamil anthology, and their findings of urns and pottery pieces dating back to the ancient times.

Historians of Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), had, during 2023, confirmed the significance of the historical structure and identified traces of iron ore, indicating manufacture of iron tools for agricultural purposes.

Residents of Kumarikkalpalayam are as much keen on fructification of the ASI excavation and are prepared to part with their properties with the lofty objective of safeguarding traces of ancient History, a farmer owning land close to the Menhir site said.