{"id":39396,"date":"2025-03-19T19:33:51","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T14:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39396"},"modified":"2025-03-19T20:59:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T15:29:59","slug":"telangana-mudumal-standing-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-03-2025\/telangana-mudumal-standing-stones","title":{"rendered":"Standing Stones of Mudumal in Telangana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Geography; Indian Heritage Sites; GS3\/Conservation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the <strong>Standing Stones of Mudumal<\/strong>, located in <strong>Telangana&#8217;s<\/strong> Narayanpet district, have been added to the <strong>tentative list<\/strong> of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the Mudumal Megalithic Menhirs (Standing Stones)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These are large <strong>standing stones (aka menhirs),<\/strong> some reaching heights of 10 to 14 feet, that were likely erected by prehistoric communities, <strong>arranged in a pattern<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Located near the <strong>banks of the Krishna River.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These stones are believed to have been used for <strong>funerary rites and astronomical observations,<\/strong> showcasing the advanced understanding of celestial events by prehistoric communities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This site is a significant remnant of the <strong>megalithic tradition in South Asia,<\/strong> dating back <strong>approximately 3500 to 4000 years.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Archaeologists suggest that these megaliths date back to 1000 BCE \u2013 300 BCE, making them contemporary to the <strong>Iron Age cultures of South <\/strong><strong>India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"a19691\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"624\" height=\"398\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Standing-Stones-of-Mudumal-in-Telangana.png\" alt=\"Standing Stones of Mudumal in Telangana\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-39397\" style=\"--dominant-color: #a19691; width:456px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Standing-Stones-of-Mudumal-in-Telangana.png 624w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Standing-Stones-of-Mudumal-in-Telangana-300x191.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Megalithic Culture in India<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is associated with <strong>Neolithic and Iron Age<\/strong> societies that thrived between 1500 BCE and 500 CE, especially in the <strong>Deccan Plateau.&nbsp;<\/strong><br>&#8211; The standing stones in Mudumal align with similar megalithic traditions found in other parts of South India, such as in Karnataka and Kerala.<br><strong>Other Similar Sites in India<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Hire Benekallu in Karnataka:<\/strong> It is notable for its extensive collection of menhirs, dolmens, and cave paintings, earning a place on the <strong>UNESCO Tentative List in 2021.<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Vibhutihalli in Karnataka:<\/strong> It showcases a large rectangular field of boulders arranged in avenues, demonstrating solar alignments.<br>&#8211; <strong>Nilgiri Dolmens in Tamil Nadu:<\/strong> These comprise dolmens, stone circles, cists, and petroglyphs.<br><strong>Other Global Sites<\/strong><br>&#8211; Stonehenge in England and the Carnac stones in France (these have already been recognized by UNESCO).<br>&#8211; The <strong>largest known menhir<\/strong> is the <strong>Grand Menhir Bris\u00e9 in France<\/strong>, once stood at 20.6 m tall.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Mudumal Menhirs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Astronomical Importance:<\/strong> These menhirs are carefully positioned to <strong>align with celestial events<\/strong> such as <strong>solstices and equinoxes.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural and Spiritual Relevance: <\/strong>One particular menhir is worshipped as <strong>Goddess Yellamma,<\/strong> and the site is locally known as <strong>\u2018Niluralla Thimmappa\u2019 (Thimmappa of the Standing Stones).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Path to UNESCO Recognition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The inclusion of Mudumal\u2019s Standing Stones in the UNESCO Tentative List is the first step toward achieving full World Heritage status. The next steps involve:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c7e2ea\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"603\" height=\"314\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Path-to-UNESCO-Recognition.png\" alt=\"Path to UNESCO Recognition\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-39398\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c7e2ea; width:433px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Path-to-UNESCO-Recognition.png 603w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Path-to-UNESCO-Recognition-300x156.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Detailed Documentation &amp; Research:<\/strong> Further archaeological and historical studies will strengthen the nomination process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Government and Public Support: <\/strong>The Indian government, along with heritage conservation bodies, must actively push for its recognition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UNESCO Evaluation:<\/strong> Experts will assess the site\u2019s cultural and historical value before making a final decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/telangana\/menhirs-of-mudumal-in-telanganas-narayanpet-on-tentative-list-of-unesco-world-heritage-sites\/article69333016.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the Standing Stones of Mudumal, located in Telangana&#8217;s Narayanpet district, have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39396"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39419,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39396\/revisions\/39419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}