A team led by expert consultant on archaeology and Buddhism E. Sivanagireddy on Sunday found Mesolithic and Neolithic remains on the premises of Buddhavanam, the Buddhist theme park being developed by the government, at Nagarjunasagar.
A number of grooves, to grind or sharpen tools, were found along the left bank of River Krishna. These are significant in indicating habitations and a factory site in and around the place, he said.
These pre-historic grooves were formed out of grinding on the surface of the laterite sheet rock and measure about 10 cm in length and almost double the size in width.
Also, Mesolithic stone tools like blades, burins, borers and flakes made of chert or fine-grain sedimentary rock were found abundantly, which are indicative of habitations and trade dating back to 8500 BC, Mr. Sivanagireddy said.
Both the discoveries were made during the course of inspecting the newly-laid walking tracks around the theme park.
Buddhavanam, which emerged as an important tourist destination in Telangana in the Buddhist Circuit, would soon feature walking and trekking tracks to promote leisure tourism, officials said.
