Committee to submit proposal to Govt. by the end of March
In the first meeting of the nine-member expert committee constituted for conservation, conservation and management of Edakkal rock shelters, steps have been taken to conserve the precious petroglyphs on them.
Noted historian MR Raghav Warrier pointed out that the number of daily visitors to the Neolithic monument has been limited to 1,920, but this decision was made without studying the carrying capacity of the site. Hindu, “Therefore we suggested conducting a specific carrying capacity study considering the rate of weathering and moss growth on the walls, which can be accelerated by inhalation and exhalation,” said Dr. Verrier, who is also the chairman of the committee, said.
The meeting suggested to organize awareness programs to make the public aware of the historical and cultural importance of the age-old monument and the need to preserve it.
It presented petrographic studies of the rocks that have been carved; The rock forming the Edakkal Rock Shelter; Withered material and major rocks supporting the shelter complex.
Geographical studies in and around the shelters were also suggested to determine which rocks are individual boulders and which are bulges of the parent rock. Quantification of the weathering rate of rocks has to be done.
It also suggested setting up of an automated weather station outside the upper shelter; temperature, humidity and pressure monitoring equipment inside shelters; seismometers in both shelters to continuously monitor tremors and background vibrations; Establishing continuous lidar monitoring, also known as 3-D laser scanning, of major rocks and fractures in both shelter and path; and continuous CCTV surveillance of shelters and walkways. The panel suggested setting up an interpretation center with images of petroglyphs and trained staff on the downhill to interpret the details of each petroglyph.
Dr. Varrier said that the final recommendations of the committee would be submitted to the government by the end of March.
The two experts could not attend the meeting due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Other members of the committee, including former Scientist of the Center for Earth Science Studies G. Shankar includes; Professor KP Sudhir, ex-officio Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology; Dr.V. Selvakumar, Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu University, Thanjavur; Dr. Shekhar Kuriakos, Member Secretary, Disaster Management; E. Dinesan, Director, Department of Archeology and S. Jayakumar, Conservation Officer, Department of Archeology participated in the meeting.