page_title: Thrissur
section_title: Pre-history
hierarchical_section_title: Thrissur / History / Pre-history
caption_attribution_description: English: The megalithic monument of the menhir type in granite found in Ramavarmapuram, Thrissur, Kerala, India. The monument is protected by the Archaeology Department of Govt of Kerala since 1944.
context_page_description: Thrissur, also known by its former name Trichur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Calicut urban areas and the 20th largest in India. It is famous for the Thrissur Pooram festival.
  The city is built around a 65-acre hillock called the Thekkinkadu Maidan which seats the Vadakkumnathan temple. It is located 268 kilometres towards north-west of the state capital city Trivandrum.
  Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin.
  Thrissur is known as "cultural capital of Kerala" the because of its cultural, spiritual and religious leanings throughout history. One of its main cultural events is the Thrissur Pooram, which attracts quite a number of tourists and travellers.
context_section_description: The Ramavarmapuram monument is in granite and is of the menhir type. The monument in Ramavarmapuram is 15 feet (4.6 m) in height and 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 m) wide. Since 1944, it has been protected by the Department of Archaeology. The monument is locally known as Padakkallu or Pulachikkallu. These menhirs are memorials put up at burial sites for the departed souls. They belong to the Megalithic Age of Kerala, which is roughly estimated between 1000 BCE and 500 CE. All such monuments have not been dated exactly. Some experts are of the view that these are the remnants of the Neolithic Age in the development of human technology. The Ramavarmapuram menhir is also believed to be a monument belonging to the Sangam period in the South Indian history.
  Another monolithic monuments like Dolmens and rock-cut caves are at Porkulam, Chiramanengad, Eyyal, Kattakambal and Kakkad. According to historians, the dolmens are burial sites. Though most of the monuments were well protected, the dolmen at Porkulam was in a neglected condition. The monument excavated under eminent Archaeologist B. K. Thapar, between 1949 and 1950, was under the Department of Archaeology. Another megalithic monument is situated at Ariyannur in Thrissur. This place has unravelled monuments such as the Kudakkallu or Thoppikkallu (Mushroom stones or Umbrella stones) and 'Munimada' (Saint's abode). The laterite hillocks of Ariyannur rise to about 50 metres. Another reference in Ariyannur dates back to the early 15th century in the poem Chandrotsavam.
caption: The 15 feet (4.6 m) in high and 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 m) wide Ramavarmapuram menhir
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