Peru link to Indian
archaeological find?
August 3, 2006. Source BBC
News By Harsh Kabra, Vadodara, Gujarat
Geologists have discovered a
striking archaeological feature on a hillock in the
Kutch district of the western Indian state of Gujarat.
This feature is shaped like
the Roman numeral VI. Each arm of this feature is a
trench that is about two meters wide, two meters deep
and more than 100 meters long.
The feature has evoked the
curiosity of archaeologists because such signs have
mostly been observed so far in Peru.
The team, led by Dr. RV
Karanth, a former professor of geology at the Maharaja
Sayajirao University in Vadodara, Gujarat, has been
involved in a palaeoseismological study of the Kutch
region for the past 11 years.
Palaeoseismology involves
the study of sediments, landforms and other geological
evidence of past earthquakes to unravel their history
and determine the nature and occurrence of present-day
earthquakes.
Dr. Karanth says that one of
the prominent explanations given for the Peruvian
features is that they may have been constructed to make
astronomical observations and calculations.
"The Tropic of Cancer passes
through Kutch. So if this structure is man-made, it is
likely that the slope of the hillock was utilized for
making certain astronomical calculations in the past,"
explains the geologist. |