3,000 Years Old Rare Human Statues Found In Mulugu
-Warangal: Two human-shaped stones said to be more than 3,000 years old were found at Edjarlapalli in Wazedu mandal of Mulugu district. The statues are worshiped by the locals as ‘Maha Lachhamma’ and ‘Mutyalamma’ deities.
Dating back to the Megalithic period (about 1,000-300 BCE), the anthropomorphic sculptures were discovered by Sangu Venkat Reddy, a research assistant in the history department of Kakatiya University, during his study on Megalithic culture in Telangana.
He also documented more than 100 Megalithic dolmenoid cist graves around the villages of Bommanapalli and Edjarlapalli.
Venkat Reddy’s findings suggest that villagers may have carried these ancient statues from their original enclosure to the village and gradually started worshiping them as local goddesses.
The statues are significant because they represent some of the earliest forms of anthropomorphic artistic expression known in the region, created long before the emergence of formal temple traditions.
Similar traditions of worshiping ancient Megalithic statues continued in other parts of southern India, the researcher noted. For example, similar statues are worshiped as ‘Bayyanna’ in Kondakandal in Jangaon district, and as ‘Deva’ in Mottur village in Tamil Nadu. The presence of more than 100 burial sites in the region indicates that the Wazedu region was an important center for human settlement and cultural activity during the Iron Age.
Experts said the findings highlight the deep historical roots of Telangana and the urgent need to preserve such archaeological sites. Dolmenoid chests and associated sculptures provide valuable evidence about the funerary practices and artistic talents of the communities that lived in the region between 1200 BC and 300 BC.
