An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s17.100

v1.c9.s17.100

Counting on the occurrence of the Rouletted Ware [11.21] displaying Roman impact in the post-megalithic deposits at BRAHMAGIRI and CHANDRAVALLI, the overlap of megalithic remains with the preceding Polished Stone Axe (Neolithic) and the succeeding Āndhra’ (early historical) remains at Brahmagiri, and the thickness of the megalithic deposit at the same site and the historical ‘certainty’ of the arrival of the megalith builders in the region in post-Aśokan days, Wheeler (1947-8, pp. 200-2) dates the megalithic culture of the Brahmagiri region from after *c.* 200 B.C. to the middle of the 1st century A.D., overlapping with the ‘Āndhra’ culture, the preceding Stone Axe culture being dated from the early 1st millennium to the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. But ¹⁴C dates have now considerably antedated the Neolithic culture of the Deccan and s. India [4.6.8-10], and the beginning of the megalithic culture, with its overlap with the latest phase of the Neolithic, has also to be pushed back. It is significant that the average ¹⁴C date for the Neolithic-Megalithic overlap phase at HALLUR is *c.* 1000 B C. (Agrawal and Kusumgar, 1974, p. 73). The megalithic culture as represented by the Brahmagiri-Maski-Hallur group may therefore be dated to 1000 to 200 B.C., with a survival down to the 1st century A.D. The passage chamber monuments of the Kaladgi-Rajankolur-Hire-Benkal group, which seem to have an earlier origin, may be provisionally dated between 1200 and 700 B.C.