1 1 Archaeology on Coorg with Special Reference to Megaliths *Dr. N.C. Sujatha Abstract Coorg, located in the southern parts of modern Karnataka is a land locked country, situated between the coastal plains and the river plains of Karnataka. This hilly region part of Western Ghats is covered with thick Kodagu as it colloquially called is the birth place of river Kaveri and other rivers. The mountains of this region are part of the Sahyadri ranges. The high raised mountain ranges like Pushpagiri, Tadiyandamol, and Brahmagiri are the rich reserves for rare animals and flora and fauna. These high rising mountains and peaks causes heavy to very heavy rainfall during the s-w monsoon. This hilly region is known as ‘Kodugunadu’ , ‘ kudunad’, ‘Maleppa’ etc. Key Words: Kodagu, Kudunadu, Mythology, proto-history, Megaliths, Kaveri, Dolemens, strucuture, inhabitated, tribes, poleyas, Eravas, Irulas, Gowdas, Pandava-pare, Introduction - The study of the history of Kodagu begins with discovery of hundreds of dolmen, megaliths burials, pottery and other artifacts found in those places which might have been inhabited by people of pre-historical period. Kodagu is inhabited by the Kodavas who call themselves as ‘Kaverammada Makka’; children of river Kaveri whom they adore and consider worthy of worship. It is part of their life and culture. The other people who inhabit here are the Gowdas, the Malayali speaking, Kannada speaking tribes, some aboriginals like Poleyas, Eravas, Jenu kurubas, Betta Kurubas, Irulas, Gonds, Iris, Kavadis and Thodas etc. For centuries the history of Kodagu was non-existent, as nothing was known about Coorg, except its distinct socio-cultural background added with rich cultural heritage. Note- Research Paper Received in May 2017 and Reviewed in June 2017 *Assistant Professor of Ancient History and Archeology, Karnataka Open University, Mysore, Karnataka Volume VI, Number 23, July-September 2017, ISSN 2277-4157 2 Dr. N.C. Sujatha The term kodagu is derived from word kudunad means ‘land to the west’. Coorg has a wonderful past associated with abundant legends, myths and ballads sung even today by traditional singers during the marriages and other customs of the Coorgs. Most of their rituals and festivals are associated with singing those ballads of gods and heroes. There are several pre-historic burials in Coorg. Archaeologist like Capt. Cole, Mackenzie, T.Oldham, M.J.Walhouse and others, has identified these. Capt. Cole has discovered a group of four megaliths near Kushalanagara, which are opened, and the articles found were studied.1. They being the part of the megalithic culture spread over Australia, Asia, Baluchistan, Mesopotamia Categories of pre-historic burials found in Coorg are mainly two: One is the burial below the ground level, another in the surface level. Coorg housed a large number of Dolmen burials (burial built above the surface level and with enclosing by a single or a double stone circle. About the Dolmens found in Coorg Subbyya K.K. says ‘they generally occur on the granite outcrops and sometimes on the foot of the outcrops.2. Numerous Dolmens are found on small mounds. These Dolmens are strikingly similar in structure and character of Dolmens of other regions. Locally these Dolmens are called Pandavamane or Pandava pare.3. There are groups of Dolmens; in groups of four to hundreds. Col Mackenzie was the first to discover the megaliths in Coorg in 1866 around Virajapete.4 Types of Megaliths: As an observation goes when Harappan Culture in its hey-day, South India was still inhabited by the people of neoliths and megalithic people. Two types of megaliths found are Cist-circles and Dolmens. Dolmens: The prominent findings in Coorg are Dolmens. They are a structure above the surface of the ground, three to four feet high and made of granite slabs. These burials are covered with four slabs constituting the upright orthostats on four sides. The floor of the burial was also of granite slab. The upright slabs are formed in the shape of swastika in plan in an anti clockwise form thus binding the four slabs together and prevent them from inward collapse. The slabs on upper side had a window like circular hole. 5. Cist-circles: are the another type of pre-historic burials which are usually a pattern of stone circles.. A cist-circle is an underground box-like structure made first by scooping out a rectangular chamber in the ground. The floor and the sides were lined with granite slabs, set up in the pit in a swastika plan, either in anti- clockwise or clockwise form to prevent the inward collapse of the slabs. These ancient burials are found: Kushalanagar: Capt. Cole found four dolemens near Kushalanagara. They are situated in the middle of a forest. They are large stone chambers, built on the top of a small rocky hill. Probably the slabs were quarried from that nearby hill used for those burials. All these four Dolmens have portholes at the centre of the front orthostatic. They are in the high relief, each having on the top of a low mound and enclosed by stone-circles. Many of them are in the pattern of a single line but Cole had discovered one of the underground sites is as large as nine feet long, five and half feet wide and four feet deep. This site was circumference of 47 feet.6. The biggest of those four burials has seven feet three inch long, five feet broad and six feet high inside the chamber. The top stone was sufficiently long enough to cover whole chamber and is eleven feet and eight Central India Journal of Historical And Archaeological Research, CIJHAR Archaeology on Coorg with Special Reference to Megaliths 3 inch long and eight feet broad.7 About these four burials Capt. Cole observes, ‘these dolmens were evidently not used as tombs and I am strongly of the opinion that they must have been altars. The Sun was the most ancient universal object of idolatrous worship and the Moon received the early veneration of humanity. And placed as these structures are, in high relief, on the summit of a rocky hill, they would appear fit which the earlier races of man delighted’.8 Ramasvami Kanive: Here, four burial cist-circles were found one of the graves is of nine feet long, five and a half feet broad and four feet deep. It was within a circle of stone, having a diameter of 47 feet. Another site was seven and half a feet long, five feet broad and four feet two inches deep. These chambers have portholes facing east. They contain human bones, iron objects and vessels. Iron objects are; swords, sickles and javelins and fragments of iron. One of the cist contain paddy husk. , another pot urn contains ragi grain. Koppa near Kushalanagar, close to Mangalore- Mysore high way, around 500 cist circles have been spread out over an area of one km K.K. Subbayya studied these megaliths which are covered inside thorny bushes. The region is plain and some stone slabs are visible on the surface. Few of the capstones of the cist are about one-two feet below the surface. The diameters of these stone circles are varied from twenty feet to forty feet. In 1869, Cole had opened and studied seventeen of these cist-circles. Few of the cist-circles were without a capstone, some without side slabs. The sites facing the east had a circular porthole. This particular site was within a circle of stones of twenty-five in diameter. One of the underground site the chamber there were two large capstones placed one above the other, each having one foot thick.9 Virajpete in south has some special features. Col. Mackenzie has discovered several dolmens to the west of Virajapete. One dolmen is of two chambers with two openings. But the top slab covering these two chamber is four meter long ,three meter broad sixteen to eighteen cm thick , but the opening was between the top slab and the side slab.10. Among few dolmens, one is bigger in size. Probably having double dolmen formed of six large slabs, and to sides. The front slabs are smaller and had a segmental porthole, cut on the top of the slabs. The central slab that separates the chambers are projected to the front by two feet eight inches and the capstone projected to the front by two feet eight inches. One of the smaller dolmens are of six feet eight inches long, four and a half feet broad and four feet high.11. Mackenzie and Col. Cole jointly had found several underground cists near Virajapete. These costs were in two rows giving intervening space providing an idea of a street. These costs have rectangular chambers, with bottom and sides composed of large single slabs of rough granites headed by a large capstone. The largest cist among these is of seven and half a feet long, four feet three inches broad, and five feet deep. These cists had circular or segmental port-holes. And most of them face to the east, few face to the west and one is facing to the north. These costs were not encircled by stones. Moribetta, close to Somwarpet, has largest number of dolmens . These dolmens are situated on a granite hill which is called as Moribetta. The hill is known as Pandava-pare. The area is of only small shrubs and thorny bushes around fifty dolmens are found here and Subbayya is of the opinion that these dolmens are the best specimens of dolmens of Coorg.12. Four upright granite slabs, constructed are surmounted by capstones. The floor is having a stone slab.