An early Iron Age megalithic burial site dated to black and red ware period was excavated here at Vadamalakunda along the forested area of Krishnagiri-Andhra Pradesh border.

The stone-built cist burials were hit upon by a two-member archaeology team from Chandrashekarendra Sarawathi Vishwa Maha Vidyalaya, Kancheepuram, here. The team had been working at the site for about a week.

The megalithic site with cist burials was found with human bones, black and red ware, dating it to over 2,500 years. The cists were found with iron objects of rudimentary forms including an axe, chisel, and conical shaped urns, bowls, plates, lids – all made of black and red ware. Each of the black and red ware bore graffiti.

A few stone slabs that were part of the parallelepipeds were also found at the site.

Ramakrishna Pisipaty, geo-archaeologist, Chandrashekarendra Sarawathi Vishwa Maha Vidyalaya, said cist burial was one form of megalithic burial and may hold full human remains or partial remains, signifying a secondary burial site as in this case.

“The Vadamalakunda spread over several acres with more than 200 burials is a disturbed site, with a few burials found today. It calls for further study on the Iron Age settlement here and socio-cultural aspects. The exact period may be discerned only post carbon-testing of the bones,” Mr. Ramakrishna Pisipaty told The Hindu .