By : Satyaki Paul
Two independent researchers from France namely Carlo Oetheimer and Yohann Oetheimer has recently discovered Geoglyphs in Thar Desert using Google Earth surveys. The data collected in the field, together with images taken by a drone, revealed the exceptional character of the graphic patterns near the village of Boha.
Geoglyphs are large, un-explained geometrical patterns on land usually proposed to be man-made features. In this context, few geometrical figures were found in the site such as:
1) A giant spiral next to an uncharacteristic serpent shaped illustration, are connected with a cluster of sinuous lines. This triad extends over 20.8 ha and totals more than half of the 48 km of lines observed.
2) Three memorial stones positioned at key points, provided evidence that planimetric knowledge has been used to create suchintricate designs.
These artifacts allow us to envisage hypothetical modalities of edification. The data collected from the sites serve as indicators of antiquitarian stages. Thereby suggesting that these lines may be at least 150 years old and possibly linked to the Hindu memorial stones surrounding them. The lack of visibility from the ground raises the question of their function and meaning. So far, these geoglyphs, the largest discovered worldwide and for the first time in the Indian subcontinent, are also unique as regards their enigmatic signs.
However, researchers such as Dr. Amal Kar strongly disagreed with these French reseachers. As per him, the observed features might have been formed naturally, but degraded over time due to both natural and human-related causes. Furthermore, he adds that such features, both small and large, can be found in the correspondingly disposed rocky terrain of all the deserts worldwide, but scarcely in the semi-arid areas due to greater amount of rainfall. This conjecture was also refuted by the Carlo Oetheimer as they have earlier discovered 9-monoliths during their 2016 fieldworks. They also discovered 4-monoliths bearing sculptures of Lord Krishna and Ganesha. They are yet to date these artifacts through Thermoluminescence. Thus, only time and its consequent result can tell who right and who is wrong in such anthropological and archaeological contexts. The author works as a Ph.D. Research Scholar at the Department of Anthropology, University of Calcutta, and the co-author of the book Anthropology For All (2021).