In the quiet village of Mudumal in Telangana’s Narayanpet district, a group of ancient stone sentinels rise from the red earth. These tall, weathered menhirs, dating back roughly 3,500 to 4,000 years, have long puzzled archaeologists and locals alike.

But recent research suggests that these stones were not random memorials or boundary markers at all.

They were part of an ancient astronomical system — a way to read the sky long before telescopes or written calendars existed.

At sunrise, the silhouettes of these giant menhirs stretch across ochre soil, standing tall like ancient guardians. They are silent, monumental. For centuries, they watched the sky.

The site, spread across roughly 89 acres, holds around 80 towering menhirs—some 10 to 15 feet high—and nearly 1,500 smaller boulders laid out in striking patterns: circles, lines and clusters. About 25 circular formations, each 15 to 20 metres across, dot the landscape.

Recent studies place these menhirs, and thousands of aligned stones and boulders, at 3,500 to 4,000 years old. Some arch in rows 20-25 feet apart. Others form circular stone clusters.

All appear to trace the sun’s path across the horizon: rising, setting, shifting with the seasons.

Archaeologists believe the community here used them as a kind of sun-clock and seasonal calendar. When the summer solstice breaks the dawn, or the winter solstice swings in, shadows fall in ways you’d have to see to believe.

CALENDARS IN STONE

These menhirs aren’t random relics. Parallel rows of stones, some upright menhirs, others smaller alignment markers, suggest careful planning. The that align with the movements of the sun and certain stars.

The ancient builders built in rows with consistent spacing, using the rising or setting sun on solstices as reference points. That kind of structure requires observation over years, even generations.

When the light of dawn strikes the stones on the summer and winter solstices, shadows fall in distinct directions — marking the longest and shortest days of the year. To ancient settlers, this would have been crucial for timing agricultural cycles, festivals, and rituals linked to the changing seasons.

This is not unique to India. Across the world, from Stonehenge in England to Nabta Playa in Egypt, ancient cultures used megaliths as celestial markers.

What makes Mudumal special is that it shows similar astronomical awareness—right here, deep in South India, at a time when such scientific sophistication was rarely credited to early Indian societies.

Archaeologist Prof KP Rao, who has studied Mudumal extensively with the Deccan Heritage Academy Trust, told Deccan Herald in an interview that the site’s design shows “orientation fidelity”, meaning the stones still align accurately with celestial directions even millennia later.

He noted that while Korea also has carvings of the Ursa Major constellation, Mudumal remains unique for using those star patterns as a navigation device, possibly the only megalithic site in the world to do so.

Two separate depictions of Ursa Major (Saptarishi Mandala) are visible among the carvings, confirming how these ancient observers mapped the northern sky to the ground, turning the terrain itself into a guide for orientation and time.

Of particular interest: one stone features cup-marks—tiny carved depressions—depicting Ursa Major (Saptarshi Mandala). When lines are drawn between stars like Merak and Dubhe, they point nearly toward the North Star. That orientation would help ancient observers find true north at night.

On solstice dawns, the rising sunlight casts shadows that align with some stones, allowing them to mark key calendar events.

WHY IT’S MORE THAN STONE

The Mudumal site lies within the Kongu region, rich in megalithic remains. Archaeologists believe these structures may have also served ritual or funerary purposes, tying cosmic cycles to life and death.

The people who raised them might have seen the heavens as part of their spiritual order—where every sunrise and shadow held meaning.

Some researchers have even mapped the orientations of these menhirs with modern astronomical software, showing that their alignments line up with solar and stellar events. The precision hints at observational skill passed down through generations of sky-watchers.

Mudumal is more than a sky clock. It’s a burial site, a ritual space, a landscape of memory. The menhirs are interlaced with local folklore: some stones are worshipped as deities, others are seen as people turned to stone by a deity’s curse.

Prof Rao explained that such local legends have actually shielded the site for generations.

Stories speak of villagers turned to stone by Goddess Yellamma’s curse after they tried to cheat her with fake gold offerings—a belief that kept people from disturbing the stones.

He said in an interview that the tall pillars are still thought of as humans, the smaller ones as cattle, noting that this fear and reverence have acted as a protective fence long before the state put up an actual one.

The name Niluralla Thimmappa—“Thimmappa of the standing stones”—attaches sacred identity. Over time, the site has been incorporated into living traditions.

PART OF INDIA’S TENTATIVE LIST OF UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

Recently, Mudumal has been added in 2025 to India’s Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a key step in recognising its universal value.

Although the Archaeological Survey of India has fenced about three acres, much of the 89-acre spread lies on private land and remains vulnerable.

According to Prof Rao, awareness drives led by the Deccan Heritage Academy Trust have helped curb damage after earlier losses during nearby irrigation-project works, when several stones were displaced.

The Trust continues to lobby for UNESCO World Heritage recognition and further archaeological study to uncover burial remains, pottery, and iron or copper artefacts typical of other megalithic sites worldwide.

TRY IT YOURSELF: WATCH THE SUN

You don’t need to visit Mudumal to experience what its builders might have seen. On the next solstice (around June 21 or December 21), stand facing east at sunrise, find a row of stones—or even just a fence—and watch the sunrise.

Mark where the Sun rises on the horizon. Over weeks, you’ll notice the point shifting slightly north or south.

Ancient builders at Mudumal would have tracked these moving positions using their stone markers, creating a simple, reliable solar calendar.

A LEGACY STILL SPEAKING

Today, the monoliths at Mudumal are weathered, some fallen, many overgrown. But when the light hits just right, they still speak.

They tell of people who needed to know when rain would come, when crops must be sown, when ritual must be honoured. They hint at early astronomical knowledge embedded in ritual, agriculture, and timekeeping.

The Mudumal menhirs remind us that long before modern astronomy, people everywhere looked up, and built their lives in tune with the rhythm of the sky.

– Ends