Maharashtra Launches Rs 15 Crore AI Project to Study Ancient Konkan Petroglyphs
The Maharashtra government has launched a Rs 15 crore project utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scientifically analyze, classify, and interpret thousands of prehistoric petroglyphs in the Konkan region. The ancient stone carvings, which date back to between 10,000 BC and 20,000 BC, are spread across 107 villages in the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of coastal Maharashtra. The four-year initiative aims to strengthen India's bid to secure permanent UNESCO World Heritage status for these historic sites.
The state government has appointed IIT Pravartak, the technology innovation hub of IIT Madras, to carry out the digital assessment and documentation of the petroglyphs. These prehistoric carvings, which cover a total area of 150 square kilometers, were added to the temporary list of UNESCO world heritage sites in India in 2025.
Tejas Garge, director of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Maharashtra, stated that these carvings represent the earliest evidence of art in the Indian context on such a large canvas. The carvings primarily depict animal figures and humanoids, including turtles, elephants, peacocks, and rhinoceroses, with an average size of 50 meters by 20 meters.
According to Garge, the carvings do not depict horses or bulls. Since horses arrived in the Indian subcontinent between 1,500 and 1,000 BC and agriculture was introduced around 9,000 BC, the absence of these animals indicates the carvings belong to the Mesolithic era, or the middle stone age.
The petroglyphs were initially discovered in 2007 by a group of people from Ratnagiri led by local resident Sudhir Risbud. Risbud later secured funding in 2021 through the non-profit Nisarga Yatri to document the figurines, eventually identifying 3,000 carvings across 107 villages.
To overcome the challenges of traditional carbon dating, which is difficult in the heavy-rainfall coastal region due to rock erosion and geomagnetic properties, IIT Pravartak will deploy advanced technology. Shankar Raman, CEO of IITM Pravartak, explained that the project will use high-resolution drone photography.
An AI-powered system will then scan these images to identify patterns, reconstruct eroded portions, and analyze the tools used to create them. The digital patterns will also be compared with ancient civilizations worldwide and local tribal folklore to understand their cultural etymology.
