Edakkal Cave 1
11.625600,76.235800
Description
Mind your head when passing the gated cave entrance (note 1) from where iron steps descend to the main »cave« (more likely: rock shelter) flanked by daylight-lit walls (some 5 to 7 m apart, partly shaded by a huge hanging boulder) which run into a terminal wall, almost at right angles. Peeping into a narrow rift on the right-hand side enables views across the forest and ghats. CAVE DESCRIPTION: »When you arrive within the caves you'll be surrounded by huge rocks creating walls and a roof some 20 m high [sic! for 20 feet or about 7 m] … Three large rocks, set apart at the bottom, but meeting at the top, create the space that forms the cave« (LONELY PLANET, Kerala 2000: 262-263). A »rock shelter formed naturally out of a strange disposition of three huge boulders making one to rest on the other two, with its bottom jutting out in between and serving as the roof« (travel.indiamart.com/kerala/caves/edakkal-caves.ht… accessed 21.05.2002). CULTURAL HISTORY - rock art: The sides are covered with hundreds if not 446 (note 2) of geometrical engravings interpreted as human figures, objects of human use, symbols, figurines of small animals, etc. to a depth of 1.2 below the floor, indicating a certain age for the engravings. Early afternoon, when the sun casts a gentle light on the images, is a good time to visit. By far most of the petroglyphs are assemblages of lines (about 3 to 5 cm wide, a centimetre or two deep and half a metre long) but there are also some circles, curves and dots of similar dimensions. LONELY PLANET, Kerala (2000: 262-263): »Drawings are sculptured into the walls. The images, somewhat Aztec-like, are formed by geometric lines. The guides (Malayalam and English) will help you distinguish male figures with feathered headdresses, female dancers, elephants, deer and flowers. The impressions remain distinct. Two scripts are represented —Pali and Brahmini. The latter apparently tells of the conquest of a man who killed numerous tigers and proclaims him Nandu (king). Some experts claim the sculptured images cannot be dated, the guide however suggests many are of the megalithic period dating from 10,000 BCE. The scripts he dates as 3rd century BCE. But dates and times seem insignificant within the womb-like imposing space of the cave.«
NOTE 1: The entrance is about a metre wide and two high but the iron bar across, slightly above Indian man-size and appears to be much battered by Westerner's heads. NOTE 2: edakkal.com (accessed 2004.01.02).
Documents
Bibliography 28/03/2016Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Edakkal Cave 2 | ||
| 0.0 | Edakkal Cave 3 | ||
| 2.1 | TOBERIMALA SHELTER | ||
| 6.9 | Pazhassi Raja (Cave of) | ||
| 24.4 | MANGALAM KAP (Cave at) | ||
| 37.0 | ERULARS & COOROOMBARS (Caves of the) | ||
| 56.5 | TIGER CAVE, Ooty | ||
| 56.5 | KURUMBA PRIEST (Cave of the) | ||
| 59.7 | GORI CAVE |