Dolmen of Hanamasagar

This dolmen was discovered while we explored the ruins of Hanamasagar fort on November 24th 2012. Hanamasagar fort is situated on a low elevation hill scattered with sandstone outcrops. The dolmen was found on the eastern slope. The dolmen is made of rough-cut sandstone slabs and measures approximately 2' x 2' x 2'. Going by the size of the tomb, only a small corpse could be buried in it. So probably this was a tomb made for a young child. I feel these tombs must be of the period between 1500 and 1000 BCE.

Close to the dolmen above we found a damaged dolmen which was also of the same size. These were the only two dolmen we could find during our hour long exploration.

These dolmen look similar to the dolmen seen on Aihole hill and at the megalithic site close to Konnur near Gokak. The dolmen at Aihole and Konnur are made of rough-cut sandstone slabs. The point to be noted is that small sized dolmen were fewer than the larger dolmen. Some of the dolmen were large enough to hold two or three adult bodies.

Dolmen at Konnur site

Dolmen on Aihole hill

For the reader's benefit below are the links to the two sites: 1. Megalithic burial site on Aihole hill and 2. Megalithic burial site of Konnur.

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