Largest Ever Geoglyph Found in India’s Thar Desert

A gigantic spiral geoglyph found in India’s Thar Desert is believed to be the largest on the entire planet and is much bigger than Peru’s famous Nazca Lines (one line in India is much larger than any of the Nazca Lines). The Nazca Lines cover an area that is wider than those in the Thar Desert, but the figures and lines are smaller in size.

It was researchers Carlo and Yohann Oetheimer who noticed the humungous geoglyph in India by searching the area with Google Earth images. In total, they found eight locations with possible geoglyphs but were able to debunk seven of them due to being furrows that were dug in the ground for planting trees. The eighth one, however, couldn’t be discounted so they decided to fly a drone over the site (which is close to the village of Boha) and confirmed the gigantic spiral geoglyph.

The spiral drawing is made up of several small geoglyphs. The four symbols contain lines measuring 20 inches wide with different lengths. Located in the center is the largest symbol that measures 2,374 feet in length and 650 feet in width that was made of one inward spiraling line that is 7.5 miles.

NASA satellite image of the Thar Desert.

Located to the north and south-west are two smaller geoglyphs but they have sustained a lot of erosion over the years. Also to the south-west is a grid with parallel lines that was formed by another line that bends backwards numerous times. The Thar Desert geoglyph covers an area of nearly 100,000 square meters.

Since the geoglyph lines can’t be seen from the ground, Daniela Valenzuela, who is from the University of Tarapaca in Chile, weighed in on the discovery by stating, “this may be significant”.

The authors of the study wrote in part, “’Three memorial stones positioned at key points, give evidence that planimetric knowledge has been used to create this elaborate design.” Planimetric elements include rivers, lakes, roads, and buildings. “These artefacts allow us to envisage hypothetical modalities of edification.”

Peru’s Nazca Lines

While not much history is known about this giant geoglyph, what is known is that it was created at least 150 years ago. There may be a connection with the Hindu memorial stones that are located around them although that hasn’t been definitively proven yet. The study was published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia where it can be read in full.

Pictures of the Thar Desert geoglyph can be seen here.

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