Over 500 megalithic burial sites near Cheyyur, Chennai, are on the verge of becoming extinct due to incessant plundering by the stone mafia.
With the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) still refusing to designate the place as a protected site, their systematic destruction continues.
Megaliths are huge monuments crafted from stone. The 2500-year-old megalithic burial sites in Cheyyur are an archeological treasure trove which reflects the culture of the past.
A typical megalithic stone burial site would contain urns in which people were buried, covered on top with small ballast stones and huge boulders encircling the place, in this case enveloping 500 burial sites.
The source of these boulders is still a mystery.
The sites are filled with ancient pottery containing the belongings of the dead which, if excavated, would reveal many old beliefs and customs.
Completely insensitive to the ancient culture, the money-minded quarry owners steal the boulders as they bring good money.
A quarry plant nearby employs innocent villagers who, in collusion with lorry drivers, visit the burial place at night to steal the boulders. The villagers are well paid and so they refuse to comment on the issue. “Once there were more than 500 burial sites, but now only 100 remain. The atrocities by the quarry-men are increasing day by day,” said Iyyenar, the only villager to protest against the illegal quarrying.
“They threatened me twice and beat me up once, but that only strengthened my resolve against them,” the uneducated builder, who is a father of two, added.
It should be a matter of concern that such an archeologically important place is still not recognised as a protected site by the ASI.
When excavations in similar sites have fetched abundant artefacts of importance, the ASI’s indifference is inexplicable.
If ASI declares the burial ground as a protected site, then the immediate 100 metres surrounding it would be certified a ‘prohibited zone’, preventing any new buildings from being erected. Further, ASI-funded security would be available to make the site secure.
More importantly, such a step would bring the illegal quarrying to an end as stealing from an ASI protected site is a criminal offence.
A number of academics from the Archaeology Department of Pondicherry University have taken up this issue and promised immediate referral to the ASI.
(Vignesh is a student of ACJ, Chennai.)