Athimoor fort, report to be given to ASI

This follows a seven-member team comprising local guides inspecting the fort located atop the 1800-feet-high hill near Athimoor on Polur–Jamunamarudur road. The fort is called both Athimoor fort and Potharai fort, Sethu said.

Sources revealed that the fort was built more than 400 years ago by Rajaram Chatrapathi, of the Marathas. Sethu said that the fort walls run for nearly 5 kilometres with the height varying from 10 feet to 25 feet. Lack of maintenance due to ignorance of its location resulted in the fort being in a completely dilapidated condition that even huge trees are seen growing from the walls and buildings.

The only official reference was in the district gazette 140 years ago by the British who called the fort Carnaticgiri. Though there was a pucca track for horses to reach the fort during its heyday, the track has now vanished. “The fort now can be accessed only through a stiff climb”Sethu added.

At a place called “Andavar Patham” en route to the fort, there is a small temple where Athimoor residents offer worship during the Tamil month Adi.

Similarly, the presence of two 3000-year-old stone burial as evidence of the stone age, according to a member Balamurgan Sambandam.

Stating that till date no government officials had visited the site, he said the centre would submit reports on the fort to the central and state governments to ensure that it was converted into a tourist spot.