ASI Nallamala Survey Documents 25 Inscriptions From Over 1,400 Years
Updated: Oct 4
ONGOLE: An ambitious archaeological expedition through remote stretches of Andhra Pradesh's Nallamala forest has documented 25 inscriptions spanning roughly 1,400 years, creating an extraordinary epigraphical record ranging from Satavahana-era Prakrit-Brahmi texts to medieval Telugu and Kannada inscriptions.
The Archaeological Survey of India's Epigraphy Branch conducted the field survey from June 11 to June 13, 2026, after receiving permission from Andhra Pradesh's Forest Department to enter protected forest areas. ASI Director of Epigraphy K. Muniratnam Reddy led the team. By the time the three-day operation concluded, the team had copied 25 inscriptions dating broadly from the second century CE through the 16th century CE.
The inscriptions represent several political periods, including the Satavahanas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Potapi Cholas, Kakatiyas, Reddy rulers and Vijayanagara Empire.
On June 11, the ASI team copied eight inscriptions at locations including Gangaram Penta, Meetota, Palitla, Ponnalabavi and Jillalapadugu. The second day produced 10 more inscriptions, including records associated with the Kalyani Chalukya, Potapi Chola, Kakatiya and Vijayanagara periods. On June 13, researchers documented another seven inscriptions, bringing the expedition total to 25.
The discoveries are particularly valuable because they preserve several stages of South India's linguistic history within the same broad landscape. The early Satavahana records use Prakrit and Brahmi. Later inscriptions contain Telugu and Kannada and display changes in scripts across centuries.
The expedition ultimately produced more than epigraphical records. Near Alatam on the Krishna River, researchers documented rock paintings and geometric motifs in shelters inside the Nallamala Tiger Reserve, with ASI's preliminary assessment associating some paintings with Megalithic and Early Historic traditions and tentatively placing the earliest material around 1500 BCE.
For Telugu Americans, the survey provides an unusually broad view of Andhra history in a single landscape. Instead of one temple or one dynasty, the Nallamala inscriptions preserve evidence stretching across many centuries of political, religious and linguistic change.
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