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Edakkal caves

Coordinates: 11°37′28.81″N 76°14′8.88″E / 11.6246694°N 76.2358000°E / 11.6246694; 76.2358000
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Edakkal Caves
Edakkal Caves
Edakkal Caves
Location in India
LocationWayanad district, Kerala
RegionIndia
Coordinates11°37′28.81″N 76°14′8.88″E / 11.6246694°N 76.2358000°E / 11.6246694; 76.2358000
Site notes
DiscoveredFred Fawcett (1890)
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Edakkal Caves also Edakal[1][2], are two natural caves at Edakkal, around 120 km south-west of Mysuru, in Wayanad district of Kerala. The caves are situated 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level on Ambukutty Mala, on the Mysore Plateau, in the Western Ghats.

The Edakkal caves are believed to be camping shelters of the Neolithic community (the south Indian Neolithic culture zone). The cave walls contain a collection of Neolithic rock engravings and images (which were incised over a period of time). The major part of images on the cave walls may belong to late Neolithic period (i. e., first millennium BC).[1] With the exception of Edakkal, no concrete evidence for the existence of a true Neolithic culture in Kerala has so far been discovered.[1]

The caves were discovered by Fred Fawcett, Superintendent of Police, Malabar District in 1896[2] who immediately recognised their anthropological and historical importance. He published an article (1901) about the caves in the Indian Antiquary (Volume 30), attracting the attention of scholars.[2]

The caverns at Edakkal are not technically caves, but rather a cleft, rift or rock shelter approximately 96 ft (29 m) by 22 ft (6.7 m), a 30-foot-deep (9.1 m) fissure caused by a piece of rock splitting away from the main body. On one side of the cleft is a rock weighing several tons that covers the cleft to form the "roof" of the cave.

Image gallery

  • View of surroundings from Edakkal Caves
    View of surroundings from Edakkal Caves
  • Medieval inscription
    Medieval inscription
  • Prakrit Grantha inscription of Kadamba ruler Vishnuvarman (c. 5th-6th century CE)
    Prakrit Grantha inscription of Kadamba ruler Vishnuvarman (c. 5th-6th century CE)

Kadamba inscription in Edakkal

  • A short Tamil-Brahmi inscription, containing the word Chera ("Kadummi Pudha Chera"), was found at Edakkal.[3]
  • An undated Prakrit-Grantha inscription of Kadamba king Vishnu Varma was recovered from the Edakkal Cave. The record, assigned to 5th or 6th century AD, shows the extension of Kadamba authority into Wynaad.[2][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Shanmugam, P. 2014. 'Before the Common Era', in A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations, ed. Noburu Karashmia, pp. 12–13. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ a b c d Fawcett, F. 1901. Notes on the Rock Carvings in the Edakal Caves, Wynaad. The Indian Antiquary vol. XXX, pp. 409-421.
  3. ^ Subramanian, T. S. (9 February 2012). "Edakal cave yields one more Tamil-Brahmi inscription". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. ^ Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 102-103.

External links

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