Geoglyph

Why in News

A geoglyph in the form of a circle said to be 3,000 years old has been recently unearthed on the outskirts of Mudichu Thalapalli in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district of Telangana.

Important Points

• It is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground and typically formed by clastic rocks or similarly durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth.
• A geoglyph is created by arranging or moving objects within a landscape.
• There are two types of geoglyphs, namely positive and negative geoglyphs.
• Positive geoglyph: It is formed by the arrangement and alignment of materials on the ground in a manner akin topetroforms (which are simply outlines created using boulders).
• Negative geoglyph: It is formed by removing part of the natural ground surface to create differently coloured or textured ground in a manner akin to petroglyphs.
• There is another variation of a geoglyph that involves seeding plants in a special design. The design usually takes years to see since it depends on the plants growing. This type of geoglyph is called an arbour glyph.
• Another type of geoglyph often referred to as ‘chalk giants’ are those carved into hillsides, exposing the bedrock beneath.