In a recent archaeological explorations conducted by the Adima Kala Trust (R.) of Udupi in Kundapur region, two menhirs were found at Hilkod situated on the Neralekatte-Ajri Road and Mavinakere in Kenchanur village in Udupi district.
An archaeologist and founder-trustee of the trust T. Murugeshi said in a release that the two menhirs, also called nilskals or free standing stones, were from the late Megalithic period.
The nilskal of Mavinakere is about 112 cm in height and is slightly leaning towards the north-west direction. The Hilkod nilskal is about 135 cm in height.
When explorers dug up a small testing trench below the standing stone at Hilkod there were some crushed red and creamy pottery pieces which were thin. Pottery pieces of the late Megalithic period were usually thin while pottery pieces of early Megalithic period, found by archaeologists during earlier explorations, were usually thick.
“Both the nilskals appears to be belonging to the last phase of the Megalithic culture of Kundapur region,” he said.
