Megalithic burial sites dating to the 6th Century BC have been unearthed in and around Dhenuvakonda village in Addanki mandal of Prakasam district.
The disturbed Megalithic cyst burials have come to the fore during levelling of roads close to the hillock in the village, according to State Archaeology and Museums Director G.V. Ramakrishna Rao.
“This is indicative of a Megalithic culture in existence then when black and red ware potteries had been in use,” he told The Hindu . Similar megalithic burial sites were identified at Penumaka in Guntur district in 2006, he recalls.
Cist is a small stone-built coffin-like box used to hold the mortal remains of perhaps deceased warriors, explains department Assistant Director T. John Kamalakar, who visited the site. People then had used a large stone in a more or less slab-like shape and placed cairn circles over it, he adds. The area is abound with about 40 megalithic monuments in Dhenuvakonda and its surroundings, says local historian Jyothi Chandramouli, suggestingfurther studies by the Archaeological Survey of India.
