Six-foot-tall menhir from Megalithic period discovered in Udupi

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, November 7, 2024: Ganesh Naik, an accountant, and Gitesh, a Hindi lecturer at Government High School, Nidle, have discovered a six-foot-tall menhir from the Megalithic period, locally known as "Gadikallu’’.

The Menhir was found near the Baje Dam on the Suvarna River along the Hiriyadka-Kukkehalli Road.

Shruthesh Acharya, Deputy Director of Sriniketana Museum and Keladi Rani Chennammaji Study Centre-Kukke Subrahmanya said the stone is around 2,000 years old.

The initial fieldwork was conducted by K Sridhar Bhat, a retired teacher from U Kamalabai High School, who discovered numerous tomb burials belonging to the Megalithic period and also found remains from the Microlithic and Neolithic periods.

However, due to the current road widening, many such prehistoric remains are likely to be destroyed, Acharya said.