Kupgal petroglyphs
 Shown within India
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| Location | Kupgal, Karnataka, India |
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| Region | Southern Deccan Plateau |
| Coordinates | 15°10′53″N 76°58′07″E / 15.18139°N 76.96861°ECoordinates: 15°10′53″N 76°58′07″E / 15.18139°N 76.96861°E |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic |
The Kupgal petroglyphs are works of rock art found at Kupgal in Bellary district of Karnataka, India. Thousands of petroglyphs have been found at Kupgal, which date to the neolithic or even the old stone age. The site, which includes examples of rock gongs, was discovered first in 1892, but subsequently became lost to researchers until it was rediscovered in the early 21st century. This site features peculiar rock formations with unusual depressions which make musical sounds when struck with boulders.
The site is situated in the Bellary district of mid-eastern Karnataka, approximately 5 km north-east of the town of Bellary. Archaeological sites in this area appear in the literature under different names, but the names of Sanganakallu and Kupgal, two local villages, occur commonly. Here, neolithic remains are found concentrated on the tops and slopes of an outcrop of granitic hills while remains of the megalithic (Iron Age) and Early Historic, and subsequent periods are found predominantly in surrounding peneplain.
Of the many sites here, the largest is located on the biggest and northernmost of the granitic hills. It was called Peacock Hill by the British during the colonial period and was sometimes referred to as such in early literature. Locals, generally call the hill Hiregudda, which simply means ‘Big Hill’ in the local Kannada language. Most archaeological literature, however, refers to the hill as Kupgal hill, after a neighbouring village (though the nearest village is Sirivaram). Recent archaeological research has dated the main period of Neolithic occupation on this hill top between 4000 and 3300 years ago
Kupgal hill is a fairly large granitic hill with several peaks, with a large dolerite trap dyke running along its axis. Petroglyphs belonging to different periods, from the neolithic to the modern day, can be found bruised or engraved on the black rocks all along the dyke. A heavy concentration of rock art is seen where the dyke emerges across the upper northern peak of the hill.
The site was first reported in the Asiatic Quarterly Review in 1892 (Fawcett). The report included a brief summary by Fawcett along with hand sketches by Sewell. It is also mentioned by Foote in his 1916 volume on the Prehistoric and Protohistoric Antiquities of India. But subsequent explorers who tried to trace it were unable to do so. Brief descriptions of the site by Subbarao (Subbarao, 1947), Gordon (1951) and Padayya (1973) appeared, but the site itself remained lost. A few pictures of the site had also been taken in the 19th Century, but the originals were either lost, or allowed to fade. Photographs apparently taken by Fawcett had been sent to the Madras Museum and the Royal Anthropological Institute. While the ones in the Madras Museum were lost or allowed to fade, those in the R.A.I. were re-photographed before they faded. These were later published by Gordon (1951). In 2002, Dr. Boivin in association with Ravi Korisettar of the Karnataka University carried out a study of the site and published photographs which effectively make it only the second time that photographs of the Kupgal petroglyphs have been published.
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Wikipedia