Even after 128 years since the petroglyphs of the Edakkal caves were found, UNESCO’s World Heritage Site status for the Neolithic site still remains a distant dream.
In 1895, Fred Fawcett, the then Superintendent of Police of the erstwhile Malabar district, found the marvellous treasure of rock art during a hunting expedition to the Ambukuthy hills. He reported the petroglyphs in Indian Antiquary, a government of India publication, in 1901. In his article, Fawcett gave a vivid account of the engravings on the walls of the cave.
The State government had earmarked ₹50 lakh to expedite measures to secure the world heritage status for the prehistoric rock art site at Edakkal and the 400-year-old Padmanabhapuram Palace, near Nagercoil, in Tamil Nadu and appointed a special officer in 2013. The Kerala Museum of History and Heritage, Thiruvananthapuram, was the implementing agency for the project.
