Hirebenakal's heritage
During the third anniversary (October last year) of the Indo-Asian Foundation of Archaeological Research (IAFAR), the Archaeological Survey of India said it had recommended to the UNESCO to accord World Heritage status to Hirebenakal's archaeological site along with the heritage cluster of Aihole, Badami and Mahakoota in Bagalkot district.
A remote village ten km from Gangavathi in Koppal district, Hirebenakal is mainly known for its heritage hill spot with pre-megalithic, neolithic and megalithic sites which have been declared protected monuments by the ASI in 1955. Atop Hirebenakal's, 'Elu Gudda' (seven rocks), there are hundreds of dolmens (three-dimensional cists) spread over acres of this hilly terrain.
Hirebenakal's hill-top archaeological monument, which is a little known Iron Age cemetery, according to the ASI, has more than 1,000 mausoleum-like small rock shelters built of upright slabs topped by capstones.
Dated between 800 BC and 200 BC, the dolmens (which are about to six-to-eight-ft-high flat roofed rock shelters) are fully or partially buried tombs most of which are located on the hill. Some of the hill-top dolmens belonging to the neolithic period are a must-see; they are rock shelters which are easily distinguishable by their artistically done red ochre rock paintings depicting people, domestic animals, birds and wild life.
During the third anniversary (October last year) of the Indo-Asian Foundation of Archaeological Research (IAFAR), the Archaeological Survey of India said it had recommended to the UNESCO to accord World Heritage status to Hirebenakal's archaeological site along with the heritage cluster of Aihole, Badami and Mahakoota in Bagalkot district.
A remote village ten km from Gangavathi in Koppal district, Hirebenakal is mainly known for its heritage hill spot with pre-megalithic, neolithic and megalithic sites which have been declared protected monuments by the ASI in 1955. Atop Hirebenakal's, 'Elu Gudda' (seven rocks), there are hundreds of dolmens (three-dimensional cists) spread over acres of this hilly terrain.
Hirebenakal's hill-top archaeological monument, which is a little known Iron Age cemetery, according to the ASI, has more than 1,000 mausoleum-like small rock shelters built of upright slabs topped by capstones.
Dated between 800 BC and 200 BC, the dolmens (which are about to six-to-eight-ft-high flat roofed rock shelters) are fully or partially buried tombs most of which are located on the hill. Some of the hill-top dolmens belonging to the neolithic period are a must-see; they are rock shelters which are easily distinguishable by their artistically done red ochre rock paintings depicting people, domestic animals, birds and wild life.