Nilgiris, the world-renowned tourist spot in the Western Ghats, holds a secret: the blue mountains were home to some of the most ancient civilisations.
CHENNAI: Nilgiris, the world-renowned tourist spot in the Western Ghats, holds a secret: the blue mountains were home to some of the most ancient civilisations.
Private expeditions have revealed at least three Iron Age (1000 BC to 300 AD) burial sites in the Nilgiris and a pre-historic cave painting that may be as old as 40,000 years (probably the oldest cave painting discovered anywhere). The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) knows the importance of these finds, but inadequacies and bureaucracy are delaying action.
S Suresh, a consultant archaeologist with the ASI, discovered the sites in 2003 and has been documenting them for four years. “The painting comprises some 500 images of humans and animals and extends to 53mx15m. The style, using ochre (red haematite) and white (lime) in wet colour technique, is similar to that found in Spain and dates back to 25,000 BC,” he told DNA.
Parivarai, the site of the painting, is 4km inside the forest near Karikaiyur on way to Ooty.
“Without the help of tribals, one cannot reach the rock face which is 300ft high and 500ft long, with paintings on the eastern face. A deep valley lies below the rock, making it inaccessible,” he says.
The ASI, meanwhile, has not come forward to take up dating or other conservation. “Private expeditions have discovered pre-historic paintings and we need to explore the Nilgiris more. With just one archaeologist (in place of the sanctioned three), we are understaffed to take up such work,” says M Nambirajan, superintending archaeologist, ASI Thrissur circle.
ASI excavations director RS Fonia says there are procedures to be followed. “There has been no proposal from the circle concerned. It should then be cleared by the five-member standing committee appointed by the central advisory board on archaeology under the ministry of culture,” he says.
While the ASI has been taking up excavations on the plains, the mountains remain unexplored. “I hear from the tribals about a lot more such sites in the Nilgiris. There are these masterpieces of evidences of pre-historic civilisations waiting to be explored,” says Suresh.
Habib Mustafa, an entrepreneur in Ooty feels the archaeological finds add a new dimension to the tourism potential. “When we mention about the archaeological sites, a lot of foreign tourists want to visit those places than the usual tourist spots,” says Habib.
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