• Pre-historic megaliths and tools discovered in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district indicate that the Khasi tribe had made the State their home since around 1200 BCE. A megalith is a large stone that forms part of a prehistoric monument.
• Archaeologist Marco Mitri and a team of academicians from the North Eastern Hills University excavated the archaeological site near Lummawbuh village in the northern slopes of Sohpetbneng (Heaven’s Naval) peak near the NH-40.
• Mr. Mitri said they found megalithic structures, and iron implements that date back to the prehistoric period in the ridge spreading over 1.5 k.m.

Neolithic site

• The excavation at Lummawbuh is the first one of a Neolithic site in Meghalaya.
• “We had sent over 20 tools and implements including grains to Beta Analytic, a Miami-based lab for radiocarbon dating to confirm their age. The tests confirmed that these were dated back to 12{+t}{+h}century BCE,” Mr. Mitri said.
• The megalithic structures are used in the traditional mortuary practices that were followed by the tribes till a few decades ago. “These Neolithic structures were first discovered in 2004. It took at least a decade to confirm the existence of a settlement in the area till about 200 years ago,” Mr. Mitri said.
• The British Archaeological Reports had in 2009 published Mr. Mitri’s work — ‘Outline of Neolithic Culture of Khasi and Jaintia Hills’.