Kupgal / Sanganakallu

The Neolithic 'ash-mound' culture site at Kupgal and Sanganakallu in Bellary district, Karnataka, above the Tungabhadra 70 kilometres upstream of what later became the Vijayanagara capital at Hampi. The ash mounds — accumulations of burned cow-dung from recurrent ceremonial burning of cattle pens, dated 3000-1200 BCE — are a distinctively South Indian Neolithic feature. Sanganakallu also preserves 'ringing rocks': granite boulders that produce bell-like tones when struck, which may have served ceremonial purposes. Discovered by Colin Mackenzie in 1800; excavated by F.R. Allchin in the 1950s. The site is central to understanding Deccan Neolithic economy.