A 2,000-year-old megalithic rock-cut tomb has been identified on private property in India, adding to the archaeological record of Iron Age and Early Historic burial sites in northern Kerala.
Dr. Nandakumar Koroth, head of the history department at Nehru Arts and Science College in Kanhangad and a regional history researcher, visited the property and identified the structure as a megalithic laterite burial chamber.
The chamber was carved directly into laterite rock and has a circular interior with a stone-blocked entrance leading outward. A central opening at the top measures about 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) across and drops roughly 2 meters (6.6 feet) to the chamber below. A stone believed to have covered the opening lies inside, while a larger rock was reportedly placed over it about 75 years ago.
How the megalithic rock-cut tomb fits Kerala’s burial tradition
The chamber is partly filled with soil, and no pottery or other grave goods have been reported from inside. Comparable megalithic burials in Kerala have produced pottery, iron objects, beads and human bone fragments, but researchers have not established that such material survives at the area.
A megalithic rock-cut tomb found in Kerala, India, may date back about 2,000 years and adds to Kasaragod’s growing archaeological record. pic.twitter.com/9OdZJvEWkG
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) September 8, 2026
The widely reported age of about 2,000 years is based on the monument’s form and its place within Kerala’s broader megalithic tradition. No published radiocarbon date or other absolute scientific date has been reported for the Nittadukkam site.
The discovery fits a wider archaeological pattern across Kasaragod district. Similar rock-cut chambers have been documented at Ummichipoyil, Karayad, Peralam, Cheemeni, Madikkai, Jeerakappara and Panayal. Several share features seen at Nittadukkam, including circular roof openings, laterite-cut interiors and separate entrances.
Panayal, where another chamber was reported in March 2026, offers a close architectural comparison. That structure also had a circular interior, an upper opening, a separate entrance, and a soil-filled chamber.
A wider network of ancient burial sites in Kasaragod
Ummichipoyil provides a strong regional comparison because archaeological work there recovered megalithic material from rock-cut chambers. An official National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities record lists a terracotta bead from one chamber.
Researchers say the burial strengthens evidence that communities lived around present-day Kanhangad during the megalithic period. The tomb alone, however, cannot establish the settlement’s size, identify those buried there, or show continuous occupation.
The site remains unexcavated in published records, leaving its contents and exact age unresolved.
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