Since these stone slab inscriptions have not been documented to date, they are considered rare.
According to an estimate, all the discovered inscriptions belong to a timeline of 7th century AD - 18th century AD.
During the course of the survey, the department has also found other stone slab inscriptions which have been documented in its publications earlier. Rekha, the curator in the department, has visited 406 villages from 2020 till date, discovering 69 stone slabs in the process.
During the period, apart from the stone slab inscriptions, she found other monuments dating back to the period of the Stone Age.
She said the newly discovered stone slab inscriptions were found during the village-wise survey work. The inscriptions are being studied by scholar H M Nagaraj of Mysuru, with the transcription to be available
soon.
“Also, the rarest stone tombs were also found in many places earlier. Those found in Morikallu village in Somwarpet taluk, are in ruins. Currently, there are only five stone tombs remaining and their preservation is the need of the hour”, the curator
said.
She meanwhile stressed the need to preserve the palaces in Kanthuru and Aikola, the Mahavishnu temples in Kaggodlu and Singatturu, Ishwara temple in Kundacheri, Neelyatu Sarthavu temple in Kokeri, Sri Durga Bhagavathi temple in Bavali and Sri Vishnu temple in Kuyyangeri, among the 175 memorials in Kodagu district.
Rekha said the 12 ‘heroic stones’ (Veeragallu), 11 ‘Sati’ stones, 21 ‘kole’ stones are peculiar to the region. She added that five other stone sculptures discovered in Kushalnagar taluk are in need of protection.
As many as 246 ‘kole’ stones are found in Somwarpet taluk. The monuments in the 15 villages of the taluk are vulnerable to danger, she wrote in a report submitted to the government.