Burial urns found in Srivilliputhur

Antique urns and dolmenoid cists were found at Arasiyarpatti near Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district. It looked like primitive artifacts covering 3,000 years of burial history in the area.

V Rajaguru, president, Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation, who led a field exploration from the west side of Vanniyampatti to Sathirapatti Main Road at Arasiyarpatti, found ancient burial urns, dolmenoid cists and menhir near the south sluice of Pudukulam tank. He said prehistoric monuments in the Megalithic Age were made using large stones. The Megalithic Age in Tamil Nadu dates from 1000 BC to 300 BC.

The bodies of those who died in the early Megalithic Age used to be put in areas outside the habitations and after animals and birds ate the portions, remaining pieces and bones with grave goods were buried in urns, he said on Thursday. On the find, he said three small urns buried side by side on the red soil surface were found at Arasiyarpatti. The diameter of the mouth of an urn is 43 cm. Besides, some stone slabs were found separately at a height of one to three feet with a semi-circle on its upper portion. Menhir was found close to three meters high in a leaning position, he added.