6000-year-old Neolithic Celts found at BNR Hills

Hyderabad: Archaeologists have chanced upon a prehistoric rock shelter and Neolithic stone axes (celts) underneath a natural rock formation at BNR Hills, adjacent to Jubilee Hills here on Saturday.

As part of their visits to unusual and unique rock formations in and around Hyderabad City, noted archaeologist Sivanagi Reddy and Sriramoju Haragopal, Convenor, Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam visited the Rock, which is locally known as ‘Tabelu Gundu’ (Tortoise rock) now developed as a traffic island on the road leading to BNR Hills. They found two neolithic celts (axes) made out of basalt stone.

During their exploration to find whether there are any remains of prehistoric rock art in the form of paintings or bruisings, they also noticed two stone axes from the floor of the natural shelter.

The findings reveal that they belong to the neolithic people, who intensified agriculture, domestication of animals, and settling temporarily during the period between 4000 – 2000 BCE and the ‘Tortoise Rock’ might have served as a seasonal habitation, since plenty of water sources now known as Durgam Cheruvu and Malkam Cheruvu were located within the vicinity, Sivanagi Reddy and Haragopal observed.

The archaeologists said this was the first time neolithic remains were noticed from the city that push the antiquity of Hyderabad 6000 years backward from now. In view of the archaeological significance and uniqueness of the ‘Tortoise Rock formations, Dr. Reddy and Haragopal appealed to the gated community of BNR Hills to preserve them for posterity.

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