Ancient twin caves discovered in Nalgonda

In a significant discovery, the Department of Archaeology and Museums has come across naturally formed ancient twin caves which prehistoric man could have made his habitation in Nalgonda district of Telangana on Thursday. According to experts in the Department of Archaeology, the 200-metre-deep caves, a rare find, are probably the oldest-ever discovered in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The twin caves which were discovered at Gajubeda village in Nalgonda district
[Credit: Singam Venkataramana]

Local tribal leaders Lalu Nayak and Bikku Nayak informed archaeology officials about the caves at Gajubeda Tanda, a hamlet under Kacharajupally grama panchayat in Chandampet mandal. The place is just a couple of km from Nagarjunasagar backwaters and very close to Dindi rivulet.

Assistant Director at Archaeology and Museums P. Nagaraju told The Hindu that as of now they have found no archaeological evidences like paintings inside the cave.

The twin caves have 15-metre radius at the entry point but the size narrows down. One of the twin caves is 50 feet deep and the other 200 metres.

He had discussed the find with many experts who confirmed they had never found such massive naturally formed caves in the past. However, he observed that it needed to be studied further by experts. The Assistant Director along with District Tourism Officer M. Shivaji and K. Narasimhulu and others visited the place.

Mr. Shivaji said that the place could be developed into a great adventure tourism spot. Since it was located very close to Nagarjunasagar, Krishna and Dindi rivers, the Tourism officer said they would include these caves in the proposed Devarakonda, Chandampet tourism circuit.

Author: T. Karnakar Reddy | Source: The Hindu [September 12, 2015]