Research team from Karnatak University Dharwad unearths pre-historic rock art site in Uttara Kannada

Researchers discover significant pre-historic rock engravings in Kalluru, Bhatkal taluk, Uttara Kannada, led by Jagadish Asode and Madhuri Chougule.

Researchers from Karnatak University Dharwad have identified an important rock engraving site in Kalluru of Bhatkal taluk, Uttara Kannada.

A team of scientists from the Department of History and Archaeology, led by Jagadish Asode and Madhuri Chougule, found the site.

They said that it is being considered as the biggest and an important pre-historic site in the coastal belt as such a big rock art site with 20 engravings in laterite belt have been hardly noticed in any coastal sites of Karnataka and Goa.

The site locally called Barakolboli, is located one kilometre from Karuru and six kilometres from Murudeshwar.

It is 13 m long and 20 m wide. About 20 rock engravings of human beings, animals like deer and bullocks, have been chiselled out on the laterite ground surface in four groups.

The engravings of most of the figures are in uniform width and depth. The first group contains a standing human being figure, bullocks, deer and an archer. The human figure measures 1.65 m height and 01.25 m width. His circular head faces his raised right hand.

The right hand is hanging free. A long rope is tied to his right hand and is linked with a bullock to his right side. The rope from his right hand is also linked straight to an archer below the human figure. A circular pothole with little depth has been chiselled out, one near the head of the human figure and the other near his feet.