Malappuram uncovers megalithic treasure

Kozhikode: Archaeological remains  dating back to more than 2,000 years from the Iron Age  have been unearthed from a residential site  in  Malappuram.   A large burial urn and  pots enclosed in it, belonging to the megalithic period, were found while workers were digging up a  road near Cheriyamundam Government Higher Secondary School  for installing a water pipeline. The small pots in red and black colours were enclosed in the burial urn known as ‘Nannangadi’.

Calicut University history department head Dr P. Sivadasan, who visited the place, said that the area has many other articles belonging to the Iron Age. “The pots are valuable pieces of evidence  which can throw light on the society that existed in Kerala during the megalithic age. We are planning to conduct a survey in the area and also an awareness campaign among the people. A detailed research in the area would lead  to more such discoveries and help us to better understand the period for further studies on Iron Age,” he said.

The place has also been identified with many umbrella stones (kudakkallu) and menhirs (nadukallu) from the megalithic age. The burial urn was used by the people to bury the body which was also enclosed with articles to be used by the dead in his/her afterlife. The pots found from inside the urn are part of those articles.  The Calicut university history department has prepared a project to preserve and study  the remnants of the Iron Age and historical documents on the campus.