Rock marks, game boards: Wildlife trail leads to prehistoric past in Aravalli

4 min readNew DelhiJun 8, 2026 05:30 AM IST

(Left) Foot engraving on quartzite rock; an Acheulean bifacial hand axe found close to rock art cliff. (Image Courtesy: Tejveer Mavi, Shailesh Baisla and Yatin Verma)

Four months ago, a wildlife trail through the rocky outcrops of the Bhondsi stretch of the Aravalli forests in Gurgaon led wildlife enthusiasts to a stone surface marked with dozens of carefully carved cup-shaped depressions, geometric grids, and a large foot-shaped engraving.

That spot has since been identified as a cluster of ancient petroglyphs (images or designs carved or engraved on rock), possible stone game boards, and stone tools —part of a wider archaeological pattern emerging from the Aravalli belt where, researchers say, evidence from multiple prehistoric phases appears to survive within the same landscape.

“A chronological continuity is being found here,” said Akash Gupta, a PhD scholar and faculty member at Delhi University’s Satyawati College who has examined the Bhondsi material. “The discovery is significant because it shows a rare continuity of human activity linking early tool-making traditions with later ritual, symbolic, and social life across this region.”

Gupta said scholars such as French archaeologist André Leroi-Gourhan viewed hand engravings on rock as evidence of a cognitive shift. Placing the latest discovery in context, he said the region has yielded signs ranging from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic period.

“Handaxes and cleavers point to early stone-tool traditions, while the tools indicate later Middle Palaeolithic activity (300,000 to 50,000 years ago). The cupules (cup-shaped depressions) and rock-art-like markings are more likely to belong to later symbolic or ritual phases, especially the Mesolithic, when prehistoric communities are known to have left behind paintings, burial practices and other markers of social life,” he said.

Officials said excavation teams from the Chandigarh Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Haryana Archaeology Department have been documenting the site, including the petroglyphs and other remains, and have submitted a report.

Kamei Athoilu Kabui, Superintending Archaeologist with ASI’s Chandigarh Circle, said, “The site needs to be protected from the land mafia and further steps in this regard need to be taken by the state government department.”

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She said the ASI’s local exploration team, working with local villagers, had found in situ petroglyphs and stone tools.

Anil Tiwari, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, ASI Chandigarh, said: “A brief report was prepared but there is still a lot of scope for further work and research.”

According to Shalaish Baisla, a PhD scholar and researcher at the School of Heritage Research and Management, Dr B R Ambedkar University Delhi, the Bhondsi documentation began after wildlife photographers Yatin Verma and Ramkumar shared images of the cup-marked rocks they had come across in the forest in February.

Verma said, “During a birdwatching trip with my team, we heard a leopard calling from a cliff above us. The cliff is a popular spot for yoga and recreational activities among local residents. After the calls ceased, we hiked to the top to inspect the area. There, I noticed several engravings that resembled the petroglyphs I had seen in reports and news articles.”

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Baisla later visited the site with Tejveer Mavi, “a local expert from Kot village whose field knowledge of the Aravalli landscape has helped researchers identify several prehistoric markers across the ridge”.

The Bhondsi cluster, located near the Bhuvneshwari Mata Mandir temple complex in the belt running from Delhi’s ridge through Gurgaon and Faridabad, is unusual because of the concentration and variety of markings on the exposed rock surfaces.

The team has documented cupules, geometric engravings, possible two-player game-board patterns and a large foot-shaped engraving, said Baisla, adding that this may have had ritualistic or ceremonial significance.

The team has been using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scanning – a laser-based remote-sensing technique that captures the shape and depth of surfaces in high detail – to create detailed digital records of the petroglyphs.

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Baisla said the aim is to preserve the fragile open-air evidence “before it is damaged by weathering, construction pressure, quarrying or uncontrolled visitation”.

The documented material is also expected to be made publicly accessible through the digital platform of Vanyaravali Foundation, a heritage NGO.

Baisla’s broader surveys have recorded similar petroglyphic and prehistoric markers across the Aravalli landscape, including at Sanjay Van, the JNU ridge, East of Kailash, Surajkund, Mohabatabad, Dhauj, Kot, and sites extending towards Alwar.

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Sophiya Mathew is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She joined the Delhi bureau in 2024, and has specialization in Integrated Multimedia Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.

Professional Background

Core Beats: Her reporting is primarily focused on the Environment and Education.

Specialization: She has gained recognition for her ground-level reporting on the Yamuna floodplains and the socio-economic challenges faced by those living on its banks. She also focuses on the disparities in Delhi's education system, ranging from elite private schools to government institutions and refugee education.

Recent Notable Articles (December 2025)

Her recent work has been heavily centered on Delhi's severe winter pollution crisis and the government's regulatory responses:

1. The Air Pollution Crisis

"A tale of two cities: Delhi govt schools choke in bad air, private classrooms set up air filters" (Dec 20, 2025): A high-impact feature contrasting the "Clean Air Bubbles" in elite schools with the reality of government school students who are exposed to an equivalent of 17 cigarettes a day due to outdoor exposure.

"Delhi sees season's worst air day, second worst December AQI in nearly a decade" (Dec 15, 2025): An analytical report on the meteorological patterns trapping pollutants in the NCR.

"Delhi bans non-BS VI vehicles from outside: Why curbing vehicular pollution is key" (Dec 17, 2025): Explaining the science behind targeting specific vehicle vintages to lower particulate matter.

2. Enforcement & Regulations

"No fuel at pumps in Delhi without valid PUC certificate from December 18" (Dec 17, 2025): Breaking the news on the environment ministry's strict "No PUC, No Fuel" policy.

3. Education Policy

"Law to regulate school fee in Delhi risks becoming procedural, say parents" (Dec 13, 2025): Investigating the loopholes in the new Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025.

"Monsoon Session: Private school fee regulation Bill cleared after four-hour debate" (Aug 9, 2025): Covering the legislative passage of the controversial fee hike regulation.

Signature Style

Sophiya is known for her observational depth. Her reporting often includes vivid details from school corridors, hospital waitlists, or the banks of the Yamuna to illustrate how policy failures affect the city's most vulnerable residents. She is a frequent expert guest on the 3 Things podcast, where she explains the complexities of Delhi’s environmental laws.

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Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.

Education

- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)

- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)

Professional Experience

Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.

Reporting Interests

His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.

Recent Coverage (2025)

- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).

- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).

- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).

- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.

- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).

- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).

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Aravalli Biodiversity Park

Aravallis