Ancient jewellery and decoration has a new meaning, with the discovery of bone ornaments in Telangana that go back about 4,000 years. In a find that has excited archaeologists, 50 pieces of bone ornaments have been found in a hamlet of Narmetta, an agricultural village on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Shaped precisely like a rhombus with round holes in the middle and circular indentations, these are thought to have been used as jewellery. Samples of the artefacts are being analysed at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad. ... Along with the bone ornaments, officials of the State Department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM) also unearthed one of the biggest capstones in the region. The stone, weighing about 42 tonnes, had to be moved using a crane. “The season was fantastic, with discoveries that have given us a better understanding of megalithic history [of the region]. Once the bone samples are analysed, we will know which animal they came from,” said N. R. Visalatchy of DAM.