MADURAI: A collection of cave paintings dating back 2,500 years to Sangam era have been discovered by a group of archaeologists in Palani in Dindigul district .

Archaeologists V Narayanamoorthy and Kannimuthu and enthusiasts Palanichamy and Raja had gone to Andipattimalai looking for an ancient Shiva temple a week ago. The temple was in a dilapidated condition. They made enquiries about whether there were any caves in the region as it was a dense forest area. A woman goatherd told them that there was a cave that could seat about 100 people 300m up the hill.

The hill is a part of the Western Ghats, on the border of Dindigul and Tirupur districts , near Amaravathi dam. The group climbed for about two hours before reaching the spot. Narayanamoorthy said the paintings were predominantly in white and were drawn with gum from trees, herbal colours and lime. The art work is done in 10 frames and depicts the lifestyle of ancient cave dwellers.

"The most enthralling of the paintings is the sequential drawing of men digging trenches to capture an elephant, the training of the elephant with whips, and a chieftain riding the pachyderm," he said. "They are drawn like a cartoon. Another frame shows women carrying water in pots for a ceremony. There is one drawing of women and children holding hands and dancing. The drawing of a goat being led for sacrifice by a group of men and women probably indicates a celebration," he said.

Narayanamoorthy said the drawings indicate the life of the people who lived in the hilly region or kurunchi nilam. Some of the rituals depicted in the drawings are still practiced by the tribes in the region, he said. Small pieces of clay pots were also discovered on the floor of the cave. About forty paintings have been defaced. "From the paintings is appears as though the ancient people inhabited this huge cave between 1000 BC and 300 BC, a 700-year period during which they produced these exquisite drawings," he said.

Deputy superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai, K Moortheeswari said the photographs of the paintings that she had received were interesting. "The paintings seem to pertain to the 3rd century BC and there are many such rock paintings in the Madurai Palani region," she said.

Usually, the age of such paintings is determined by comparing them with other paintings before doing tests. Moortheswari said experts from ASI would visit the site after a three-day conference being held in Ooty from March 6. "Though drawn in white, the art seems to resemble the ancient Bhimbetka rock paintings in Madhya Pradesh," she said.

