Grooves of the Neolithic period are noticed at Basvaipalli village in Devakonda mandal of Mahabubnagar district during the archaeological explorations conducted by E.Sivanagireddy, archaeologist and CEO ,Pleach India Foundation on Sunday.
There are four grooves formed out of sharpening of the cutting edge of the stone axes made of basalt stone by the Neolithic people which measure four to eight inches in length; three to four inches in width and one to two inches in depth and are located on a huge low profile hillock on which a Venugopala temple was built in 18th century.
These grooves are found very close to the Mandapa of the temple towards the north-east corner during the course of identification of granite stone quarries to extract new stone needed for the restoration works of medieval temples at Kolanupaka taken up by Yadadri Temple Development Authority.
Dr. Sivanagireddy reveals that the areas around Basvaipalli might have served as a habitation to the Neolithic man which was congenial for hunting and agriculture. He says that there are a good number of serpent hood shaped granite rocks and natural caverns in the hills at Manyamkonda, Choudarapalli,
Tatikonda, Rachala, Asnapur and Moosapet which yielded Neolithic evidence including prehistoric rock paintings might have been the temporary shelters before they moved to other areas.
Based on the evidence of the grooves found on the Basvaipalli hillock, Dr. Sivanagireddy dates the Neolithic grooves to a period between 4000 to 2000 BC. This is a new find and adds to the existing data on the prehistoric remains in Mahabubnagar district in southern Telangana. He appealed to the local communities to preserve these grooves which bear a lot of archaeological significance for posterity.
