Historians rue erasing of historical Iron Age evidences in Addanki

Vijayawada: "It is pathetic to see the Iron Age remains are damaged without historical sense," says Historian and CEO of the Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA) Dr E Sivanagi Reddy.

Following the information passed on by historian Dr Jyothi Chandramouli, as a part of ‘Preserve Heritage for Posterity’, a scheme launched by CCVA, a team led by Dr Sivanagi Reddy reached Dharmavaram in Addanki mandal in Prakasam district to visit the megalithic site on Friday.

They found the Iron Age burials, dated back to 1000 – 1500 BCE located on the hill slopes of the village outskirts, which were mercilessly dozed out for road works, resulting in losing once for all the priceless remains of the human past, he said.

He said that his team, including Dr Jyothi Chandramouli, K Venkateswara Rao, president of Puratana Organisation, was shocked on seeing an Iron Age burial exposed by illegal digging and noticed a big pot deposited in it and bones and pot shreds in the surroundings.

"Though more than 10 burials were spoiled, there are still 10 Cairn circles, built of huge boulders, intact which could be protected from vandalism and preserved for posterity," said Dr Sivanagi Reddy.

He and his team members collectively appealed to the State Department of Archaeology and Museums to look into the matter and protect the site under the provisions of Act.

Later, the team sensitised the villagers on the historical and archaeological significance of the burials and the need to preserve them for posterity.