For centuries, the fear of curse and death prevented the local people from visiting Ezhuthuparai (rock with writings and paintings) in Anjukulipatti on the Natham-Dindigul Road.
When archaeology student P. Murugan, as part of his research, forayed into the spot, he was in for a pleasant surprise. He spotted a panel of rock paintings belonging to a period between 3,000 BCE and 3,500 BCE.
“They are white in colour and the paintings are drawn using lime pigment mixed with animal fat,” said Mr. Murugan, whose PhD topic is Archaeology of Dindigul District.
Vasanthi, former Deputy Superintending Archaeologist of the Archaeology Department and guide of Mr. Murugan, said the symbols found in the panel were very important.
The panel has 56 paintings depicting tridents, spears, swords, horse and elephant riders, sacrifice of animals, mantras on energy and food, and lots of symbols. Though there are other paintings, they are in bad shape and cannot be deciphered.
Scene from a war
“There are scenes either from a hunting expedition or a war. Similar paintings have been found in Sirumalai and the area is also a continuation of Sirumalai, though unexplored so far,” said Mr. Murugan, who had also discovered burial sites in the district.
He added that one important finding in the panel was a painting of sexual intercourse and a similar painting was found in Mallapadi in Dharmapuri district. Moreover, the human beings looked bulkier than they were in similar paintings found elsewhere.
Mr. Murugan said after he stumbled upon the rock paintings, he immediately referred to all the available literature including books published by the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Kilvalai findings on rock paintings to verify whether the Anjukulipatti paintings had already been mentioned.
“I could not come across any reference about the Anjukulipatti paintings. Therefore, the panel is a new finding,” he said.