Ancient laterite rock-cut chamber unearthed at Panayal in Kasaragod

A laterite rock-cut chamber, believed to be nearly 2,000 years old and linked to the Megalithic period, was unearthed on Sunday (March 1) during excavation work for the construction of a compound wall at Panayal in Kasaragod district.

The structure was discovered on a property owned by M. Madhusoodanan Nambiar and M. Parvathi Amma at Panayal under Pallikkara grama panchayat.

Acting on information provided by Chandran Panayal, a resident, Nandakumar Koroth, archaeologist and faculty member of the History department at Nehru Arts and Science College, Kanhangad, inspected the site and confirmed that the find is a Megalithic laterite rock-cut chamber.

Mr. Koroth said the circular inner chamber had been carved out of laterite rock, with its entrance sealed by a stone slab. The portion usually seen with steps remains buried under soil. A circular aperture of around 5 cm in diameter is seen at the centre of the top portion, designed to allow a person to descend into the chamber. The stone slab that once sealed this opening was damaged during the excavation work. The shaft leading down is around three feet deep, below which the circular burial chamber is located. As the interior is filled with soil, no urns or artefacts are presently visible.

Megalithic communities constructed such chambers by interring pottery of varying shapes and sizes as part of ritual belief systems. Locally, these chambers are known by names such as ‘Muniyara’, ‘Pandava cave’, ‘Peeranki cave’, ‘Nidhikuzhi’, and ‘Kalppathayam’.

Several umbrella stones, another form of Megalithic monument, continue to survive in nearby areas, including Munikkal, Karippadakam, and Kulathur. Across Kasaragod district, similar burial structures have earlier been reported from places such as Pilicode, Chadravayal, Pallipara, Ariyittapara, Pothamkandam, Panangad, Ummichipoyil, Thalayadukkam, Parappa, Bheemanady, Plachikkara, Kaniyala, Kuttikol, Kallanchira, Madikkai, and Paivalike.

Officials of the State Archaeology department, Kozhikode, visited the site and inspected the chamber.

Megalithic period

K. Krishnaraj, archaeologist and officer in charge of the Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, said the chamber looked like one from the Megalithic period. Further excavation will be done in the coming days. “We are expecting that there will be materials and evidence, which will shed light on the past, he said, adding that the construction of the wall had been stalled.