R VIMAL KUMAR
TIRUPUR, DEC 11
A research team of historians and archaeologists attached to Tirupur-based Virarajendran Archaeological and Historical Research Centre has discovered two hero stones situated adjacent to each other on a trisection point of roads at Kallapuram near Pollachi.
One hero stone was erected in memory of the person who martyred while protecting the crops from an elephant and another for a person who got killed while protecting the villagers as well as cattle from a tiger.
Ravikumar, the team leader, told this reporter that the inferences from the carving styles on the stones indicated that they were erected during the 15th century.
Distinctive stones
According to the team members, the stones have peculiarities among all the hero stones discovered till now from Kongu region.
“Usually, stones were found at public places inside the villages, alongside ‘trade routes’ and near riverbeds especially in Kongu region. Normally, a single stone could be traced from a particular spot. Here, two stones could be seen situated close to each other and that too on the tri-section point of the roads.
“Besides, it is also rare to find hero stones erected for the ‘hero’ of the village who fought elephant herds which raided the crops. Usually, the stones have come up in memory of heroes who killed animals like tiger and who thwarted the attempts of wild boars to destroy the crops,” said Ravikumar.
Both the stones were found to be identical in size with a height of 70 cm and width of 60 cm.
