A family initiative to conserve megalithic history

A family in Kannur preserves a megalithic relic, urging urgent measures to protect other monuments from destruction.

Amid rampant destruction of megalithic sites in Kasaragod and adjoining areas, a family in Karivellur panchayat, Kannur, stands as a beacon of preservation.

Narayanan Namboothiri, a temple priest, and his family have taken it upon themselves to safeguard kudakal (umbrella stone), a relic from the Iron Age, in their property.

A kudakal comprises four side slabs or orthostats supporting a domical capstone. These distinctive burial monuments are relics of the megalithic period and are scattered across the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kasaragod, Kozhikode, and Kannur.

Mr. Namboothiri laments the dwindling number of such monuments in the region. Once boasting five such monuments, only one survives today, as the stones gradually succumb to time. Initially, unaware of their historical significance, the family believed these stones were where saints used to meditate. Later, they realised the stones were remnants of megalithic period with historical importance.

Realising the importance of preserving these monuments, the family resolved not to succumb to offers from individuals willing to pay hefty amounts for a kudakal in their property. They remain steadfast in their commitment to safeguard the over 2,000-year-old kudakal. Several students and officials from the Archaeology department visit the place nowadays to study the kudakal.

Expressing willingness to cooperate with local authorities or the Archaeological department in initiatives to protect the monument, Mr. Namboothiri calls for urgent measures pointing to the destruction of such monuments in the region following construction activities.

Expressing concern, social activist Muraleedharan Karivellur highlights the threat to dolmen, menhirs, and rock paintings posed by extraction of laterite stone for building constructing. He says the Archaeological department and the Archaeological Survey of India should identify and conserve these monuments.