Overall, the site is still relatively undisturbed, perhaps because of a taboo among people in Hirebenkal against going there. But clearly, the taboo is not widespread, for we met people from neighbouring villages who regularly bring their goats and cows here for grazing. It made for an interesting sight, seeing cows grazing amongst 2000-year-old megaliths... Only in India!
Of course, the feeling that the site had been untouched all those years was only an illusion. The picture on the right is of a cist, recently dug up by people who thought they would find treasure buried in it.Hirebenkal is also chock-full of rock art - paintings done by the ancients on rocks in the area, showing deer, people, geometric designs, etc. More on that in a later post.
4 comments:
very interesting... and unfortunate that such places are so little known.. how did u get to hear of it?
Thanks for the comment, Anu. I heard about Hirebenkal from the Archaeological Survey of India.
Hi Meera, I stumbled on your post about the Sultanpet Cemetary, I had read about this in DH sometime back and was searching for info about it. I was just wondering if it still exists? Few of us in Bangalore are rediscovering some historic parts of Bangalore and it would be great if you could be part of it..
Thanks Aditya
Aditya, yes the Sultanpet cemetery still exists. In fact, the owner of a farmhouse nearby has taken the initiative to fence the area and even put up a sign with a little information on the cemetery.
Rediscovering historic parts of Bangalore sounds really good! We do try and do a little of that through Intach (www.intach.org) and our heritage walks. Would love to know more about your rediscoveries.
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