Saving Megalithic sites

Recently, a new protected area was declared in the Jordan Valley to protect megalithic structures dating back to 3000 BCE. Similar megalithic structures exist near Thrissur in Kerala, but their situation is not as good.

No one has so far protected and preserved any of the ‘kodakkal’ or umbrella stone of megalithic culture found in different places of Malappuram district. Many of them found in Kilikkallingal in Kavanur panchayat near Areekode have already been destroyed either by treasure hunters or by callous quarrying of the laterite.
“When I started my study, I found over two dozen ‘kodakkals’ at Kilikkallingal alone. But unfortunately, now we can find remains of hardly half-a-dozen megaliths there,” said V.P. Devadas, associate professor of history at NSS College, Manjeri, who heads a UGC-aided study on ‘Megaliths of Kerala.
‘Kodakkal’ is a unique mushroom-shaped megalithic burial monument of Kerala. “Nowhere else in the world is this kind of megalithic burial site found,” he said.[No care for Megalithic burial sites]