Mudumal Menhirs
Also known asMudumal Megalithic Site · Telangana menhirs
DatedEst. 2000 BCE–500 CE
No licensed photograph yetWe have no photograph we may publish for this site, so the interpretive 3D view leads instead.
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Mudumal Menhirs are a group of prehistoric standing stones lying to the southwest of the village of Mudumal, in the Narayanpet district of the Indian state of Telangana. The village is on the banks of the Krishna river. The site is also known as the Mudumal Megalithic Site and the Telangana menhirs.
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Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Mudumal Menhirs
The menhirs are recorded as a group of prehistoric standing stones located toward the southwest of the village.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): MudumalCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): MudumalCC BY-SA 4.0
The menhirs are recorded as a group of prehistoric standing stones located toward the southwest of the village. The catalogue dates the monuments by typological estimate to the period from 2000 BCE to 500 CE.
SettingSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): MudumalCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): MudumalCC BY-SA 4.0
Mudumal is a village in the Narayanpet district of Telangana, on the banks of the Krishna river.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): MudumalCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): MudumalCC BY-SA 4.0
Megaliths are found in almost every part of South Asia, from the south to the north-eastern hills. Dates in the literature run from before 3000 BCE, and the southern megalithic cultures correspond in part with the Iron Age. A large fraction of such monuments are thought to be associated with burial or post-burial rites. The forms are many: stone circles, cists, menhirs, dolmens and rock-cut chambers.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Megalithic burials of India
Megaliths are found in almost every part of South Asia, from the south to the north-eastern hills. Dates in the literature run from before 3000 BCE, with recent finds in southern India claimed back to 5000 BCE, and the southern megalithic cultures correspond in part with the Iron Age. A large fraction are thought to be associated with burial or post-burial rites. The forms are many: stone circles, cists, menhirs, dolmens and rock-cut chambers.
Researchers note that giant human-shaped figures, which usually occur with megalithic monuments in burial grounds, may be connected with ancestor worship, though what they symbolise is unclear. Marks found mostly on potsherds in megalithic burials of central and south India and Sri Lanka, tentatively dated from 1000 BCE to 300 CE, are still debated: there is no consensus on whether they are undeciphered writing or graffiti.
In the east the tradition has lasted longest: the megaliths there show evidence of living megalithic practices until recently. In the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, Mawphlang ("grassy stone") is one of many settlements named after monoliths, and it is the site of a sacred grove. Visitors should respect local custom.
Dating is the weak point: few have been excavated to modern standards, and many are dated only by comparison with excavated graves.
When visiting, look for rings of stones at the edge of fields, for capstones raised on slabs, and for groups of graves on hillsides.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Megalith, Wikipedia: Iron Age in India, Wikipedia: Megalithic graffiti symbols, Wikipedia: Mawphlang · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 2011
According to the 2011 census, the village had a population of 2890, in 537 households.
Source
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 2000 BCE–500 CEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypological estimate, not a date for this site: a menhir in South Asia is normally dated between 2000 BCE and 500 CE (Atlas typological table).Source for this date
Measured facts
- Location
- Narayanpet district, Telangana, IndiaSource: Location
- Setting
- Banks of the Krishna RiverSource: Setting
Where it stands
India
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 16°23′14″ N, 77°25′58″ EFor a GPS or map app: 16.38719, 77.43289
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
3 sources behind this page
- 01Q133308606wikidata.org
- 02https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/ (OSM node 11980112347, village 'Mudumal II'; ODbL)nominatim.openstreetmap.org
- 03Mudumalen.wikipedia.org
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Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Mudumal" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors