Hero stone discovered near toilet

Tirupur: A team of archaeological enthusiasts has stumbled upon a hero stone, which depicts a warrior fighting a wild boar, at Vellakoil in the district.
The stone was found near a public toilet on Vellakoil-Nathamedu Road at Karikadai Medu, S Manikandan, a social worker who first spotted the stone, said. “The stone might be erected after the warrior died protecting crops. It is at least four centuries old,” S Ravikumar, team director of the Veerarajendran archaeological and historical research centre, said. “Historically, people appointed warriors to protect crops from wild animals, which was mentioned in Tamil literatures including Sangam literatures,” he said.
“The stone is 145cm high and 85cm wide. The hero wears ornaments like sarapalli and channaviram on his chest, anklets on his hand, ear rings called Kundalam, and a finely decorated dress with a sheath to keep a sword,” Ravikumar said. “The warrior is seen inserting a sharp weapon with a rope into the mouth of a wild boar to tightens its mouth so that it would not bite him.”