Ancient burial urns surface on stream bed in southern India

Several urns in which bodies of the dead were interred in ancient times by tribal people on Thandigudi hill surfaced on the bed of a forest stream near Marudha Nadhi dam at Iyyampalayam in the district owing to heavy flood on Friday.

One of the urns that surfaced in a big stream owing to heavy flow of water in Iyyampalayam near Batlagundu
 in Dindigul on Friday [Credit: The Hindu]

Portions of the urns were seen above the surface of the stream bed. At some places, urns were found in clusters near Sattiparai area. While three or four urns were found in a particular spot, several others were found scattered all over. Almost all the urns were in damaged condition.

The tribal people might have buried these urns on the bank of the stream. Heavy flood in the stream created soil erosion bringing the urns to the surface, said a farmer, Ravi.

Remains of these urns are proof to the presence of tribal people near Sattiparai near Thandigudi hill and their regular movement to Marudha Nadhi dam. Already, several archaeologists and researchers have conducted research in Thandigudi hills about tribal people and their culture and tradition.

Meanwhile, some people, who believed that there could be hidden treasure, started digging the places where the urns were buried. They found only pieces of bones in the urns, Mr. Ravi said. Local people informed that these urns were present on a stretch of one km of the forest stream.

Source: The Hindu [January 04, 2015]