Brahmagiri is an
archaeological site located in the
Chitradurga district of the state of
Karnataka,
India. Legend has it that this is the site where age
Gautama Maharishi (also spelt Gauthama Maharshi) and his wife
Ahalya lived. He was one among seven noted Hindu saints (Saptharshi mandalam). This site was first explored by
Benjamin L. Rice in 1891, who discovered rock
edicts of Emperor
Ashoka here. These rock edicts indicated that the locality was termed as
Isila and denoted the southernmost extent of the
Mauryan empire. The Brahmagiri site is a granite outcrop elevated about 180 m. above the surrounding plains and measures around 500 m east-west and 100 m north-south. It is well known for the large number of
megalithic monuments that have been found here. The earliest settlement found here has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BC.