This is a journey in search of the places which are unmarked in history. Their are proof of the existence here , the stones we found on the site.
This state of Jharkhand is rich in greens and minerals but this time we are traveling in search of history of settlement, in search of the historic picture of this region.
So to start off with the journey of existence of this region we though of first looking into the cultural behavior of the indigenous people of this region. It is seen that they have a very typical term 'pathalgadi' or 'sasandiri' for the 'megaliths' which is the burial ground and is marked by placing stoned over the grave of the deceased. In search of these megaliths sites we came across few books and web pages and amazed to know that this land of forests has quiet a number of megalithic sites as well. These places have been visited by few historians and have been mentioned in few books as well. Marking few of these megaliths sites we started with the village called 'Çhokahatu'. Chokahatu is a small village which lies in the Sonahatu block.
How to reach: Take an SUV from Ranchi . The site is approximately 67 kms from the city, we took almost 2 hours to reach Chokahatu.
We had to take NH 43 and from the highway we moved towards the village Sonahatu, it was interesting to see how the road ran along the canal and there were paddy fields around.
The perfect village scene with different patterns and colors amazed us. This area is away from the urban effects and we could witness the various indigenous houses and materials used there.
So we reached Chokahatu and with the help of the village kids we reached to the site and it was an unending stretch full of these megaliths. This site is still used by the villagers there but unfortunately no one there even the elders of the village had no idea about the history of the place. It is lost in the history. We were just clueless as to when it would have started and how they brought these stones. But definitely these stones are the evidence of existence of human since a very long time.
From Chokahatu we moved to another megalith site, which was beside the river Shankh, a village named Marchadih.
This place has totally been unknown to people, whereas it has a mesmerizing scenic beauty. The river Shankh, the mountains on the backdrop, the Stonehenge spread amid the grassy land, the cattle and the villagers enjoying the weather.
We found this place with the help of villagers around and truly these places have been untouched. Again here also none could give any specific information about this site and history.
The village was a small one and had the katcha roads to reach to this place. They have those stone and mud houses with thatch roof. The picture of the true rural Jharkhand could be seen here.
Those stonehenge remain here since ages and have been unknown, there is no history and it's just a part of the rural Jharkhand. There are so many megalithic heritage in the state which we are unaware about. Chokahatu is the best known megalithic site which is spread in an 8 acre site and has thousands of stone slabs. Whereas Marchadih has not been yet identified and is lost in the forests of Jharkhand.
For more information visit the website: https://beyondtheforests.godaddysites.com/
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