Stone Figures of Konkan: Carvings from 12,000 Years Ago

 Hidden on the flat laterite plateaus of Maharashtra's Konkan coast lie some of the most remarkable prehistoric carvings in the world. These petroglyphs — figures of animals, humans, and sea creatures etched into stone — are believed to be over 12,000 years old, making them among India's oldest surviving art forms.



Human Petroglyphs - Devache Gothane 

How Were They Discovered?

For centuries, local villages knew about these carvings but didn't realise their prehistoric significance. In the late 1980s, bird-watcher and engineer Sudhir Risbud and his friends came across a large square pattern engraved near Ganpatipule road — one of the first officially documented petroglyphs of the region.

Decades of grassroots exploration followed. Researchers interviewed villagers, trekked plateaus, and catalogued hundreds of carvings. Many had been buried under soil for thousands of years, only surfacing after heavy rains. Maharashtra's Directorate of Archaeology eventually launched a formal survey, and the full scale of the discovery became clear.

What Do the Carvings Show?

The stone figures depict a world that no longer exists in Konkan — a landscape teeming with animals now extinct or rare in the region:

  • One-horned rhinoceroses — with skin folds and proportions so accurate, the carvers must have observed them first-hand. Rhinos went extinct in Maharashtra around 20,000 years ago.
  • Elephants, hippos, tigers, and wild boars
  • Marine life — sharks, stingrays, and crocodiles
  • Human figures — some standing with arms spread wide, others in ritual or battle poses
  • Abstract patterns — spirals, concentric circles, and what some scholars believe are astronomical symbols

Why Are They Unique?

Most Indian rock art is carved into granite or sandstone. The Konkan petroglyphs are carved into laterite — the soft, iron-rich reddish stone found across the Konkan coast, known locally as jambha. Artists used pecking, hammering, and etching with stone tools to create both raised bas-relief carvings and incised line drawings.

The sheer variety of imagery, technique, and style across different sites suggests this was not the work of one community, but an evolving visual tradition developed over thousands of years.

Key Sites to Visit

Devache Gothane — One of the most studied sites, with a rich variety of land and marine animals carved side by side.

Barsu Village — Features a famous figure appearing to hold wild animals in both hands. One of the most iconic images in Konkan rock art.







Devi Hasol — Home to the largest single carving in Konkan — a massive 8-metre wide square composition with intricate internal patterns.



Jambharun — Contains 50 petroglyphs including eight large human figures with spread arms and round heads.



Ukshi & Kudopi (Sindhudurg) — Sites in the south that link Konkan's art tradition to similar carvings in Goa and Karnataka.




Still Sacred to Local Communities

These carvings were never fully forgotten by the people of Konkan. For generations, local villagers referred to the human figures as gaonrakha — "village guardians" — and treated the sites as sacred. At one site, five carved human figures are still called the Panch Pandav after the Mahabharata heroes. Some sites are central to village festivals and rituals to this day.

This community relationship has helped protect many sites — it was often local knowledge that guided archaeologists to carvings hidden in forests and on hilltops.

Are They Protected?

The petroglyphs face threats from quarrying, construction, and monsoon erosion. In 2024, residents and archaeologists raised alarms over a proposed oil refinery at Barsu that would have destroyed carvings in the area.

Fortunately, protection is growing. In 2023, the sites were added to UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List. In 2024, the Maharashtra government designated the Ratnagiri petroglyphs as Protected Monuments and allocated over ₹24 crore for their research and conservation.

Sources: Maharashtra Directorate of Archaeology and Museums · UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List · MAP Academy · Smithsonian Magazine








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