There's some history under our feet

BANGALORE: IT City Bengaluru could have many of its pre-historic remains lying intact, buried in the red earth layer sandwiched between rock beds in Jalahalli, North Bangalore. Researchers fear that many of these are exposed and yet to be protected.
According to A Sunder, a research archaeologist from North Karnataka, this region is rich in reserves of remains dating to the Megalithic (1,000-700 BC) and earlier Mesolithic (5,000-3,000 BC) ages.
"I have not been to this area. But, there is an old collection of some of their tools excavated by KRU Todd, that are preserved at the British museum in London. However, I am not too sure if there has been any excavation in recent times to unearth these tools and preserve them,'' he told The Times of India on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a two-day conference on `History of Bangalore'.
He said the areas are rich in the menhir style of burials, where a single site could yield a cluster of such tools. "They may be found in the hundreds, yet remain barely noticeable due to their small size. Some, like the crescent, are just 8 mm long and 2-3 mm wide. At many places, these tools may be embedded 50cm to 1m below ground level, or even be visible on the surface," Sunder explained. These tools are made of rock crystal and white quartz.
TRACING BENGALURU
The real history of Bengaluru still survives on hypotheses. One theory dates back to 890 AD, encompassing a busy village area between Madiwala and Begur, that flourished among `Benge' (red sandalwood) trees -- these could have also given the city its name. Even the Fort area was formed only in the 1500s.
"But much of that old Bengaluru is now lost. We have nothing remaining of it, except the Someshwara temple at Madiwala that was built by the Chola dynasty. Even the Benge trees are now a rarity in the city,'' observed M G Manjunath, Kannada professor at Mysore University. He presented a detailed paper on the `Origin of Bengaluru', as part of a two-day seminar on history, archaeology and culture of Bangalore organised by the directorate of archaeology and museums. Over 100 research papers are slotted to be presented at the event, being held in the city for the first time since its inception in 2004.
When contacted, BBMP forest officials also admitted to the diminishing number of Benge trees. "We find them nowhere in the city limits now. But we are replenishing them through farms elsewhere. Last year, we planted 1,000 Benge trees in Yelahanka,'' they said.
WHO CARES?
The seminar is being held in the city for the first time, but none of the ministers invited for it turned up for the inauguration ceremony at the Mythic Society.