Megalithic rock-cut house found in Sanguem’s Kaley

Keri: Members of Vivekananda Puratatva Abhyas Mandal (VPAM) of Keri have discovered a rock-cut house in Kaley, Sanguem.

In Kaley, a temple complex dedicated to Kalnath, a form of Shiva, existed since ancient times. Recently, VPAM members came across a rock-cut house from the megalithic age.

VPAM member Chandrakant Aukhale said the rectangular house has no roof, a single entrance, and a chulha hewn out of laterite stone.

Sudhakar Sawant Desai, 72, from Kaley, told TOI that, according to ancestral stories, a family once lived in this house, situated inside the forest. A perennial water tank, 500m away, irrigated agricultural fields in winter.

Since the last half-century, archaeologists have been discovering prehistoric evidence. On the upper reaches of Kaley, there is a unique geological rock formation known as the Kator-Fator, which is believed to have once touched seawater.

Kaley is also blessed with a perennial tributary of the Mhadei river, originating from the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats.