An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s17.42

v1.c9.s17.42

*4.17.3 Vindhyan region.* 'Cairns' and 'sepulchral mounds' have been known in Dt Mirzapur for more than a century. Le Mesurier, 1867, excavated one of the cairns near Chunar which contained a perfect 'kist', empty but covered by a capstone. During the explorations in Dt Mirzapur Cunningham's party also noticed sepulchral mounds and cairns (Cunningham, 1865). Fresh attempts to examine the megaliths in s. Uttar Pradesh have been recently made, in the sixties, by the Allahabad and Banaras universities. The Kaimur and Vindhyan ranges of the area are a rich source of sandstone, sometimes found in the form of natural slabs, which could be used for the construction of these monuments. Recent investigations have revealed megaliths in a considerably large area covering parts of Dts Varanasi, Mirzapur, Allahabad and Banda. The region lying between the Karamnasa and Chandraprabha in Dt Varanasi is particularly rich in megalithic monuments.