On Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami released the status report of the different archaeological excavation happening in the states. The report compiled by the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department includes details about the excavations done at the Keezhadi cluster (Keezhadi, Manalur, Agaram and Kondhagai) in Sivaganga district, Adichanallur and Sivagalai in Thoothukudi district and Kodumanal in Erode district in addition to the explorations at Vellore, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri, Salem, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts.
Speaking about this Minister for Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archaeology Mafoi K Pandiarajan, said that over 3959 artefacts had been excavated from the Keezhadi cluster and Kodumanal in Erode till July 2020 and ₹31.93 crores had been allocated for this year.
Findings from Keezhadi cluster
128 carbon samples have been collected from Keezhadi cluster so far for determining the age of the object of which 75.8% are from Keezhadi itself. Artefacts recovered include objects like globular pots, cattle bones, several iron and copper objects, precious and semi-precious beads like carnelian, agate and amethyst and seals and Graffiti marks that had the Tamil Brahmi inscription. These finding further suggests the trading and economic activities of the Sangam age.
17 human skeletons and 2 animal skeletons have been unearthed from Kondhagai. A burial site with 40 urn burials and 16 surface burials were identified. One of the urn had a human skeleton in sitting position with the head facing north. In another burial, a child’s body was laid north-south with head on the north facing the west.
At Agaram, microlithic tools, polished stone axe, carbonised paddy, ceramics, beads, terracotta figurines and decorated shell objects were excavated. A gold coin weighing 300 mg was also unearthed. Rim of a Chinese ware and smoking pipes were also excavated.
Findings from Adichanallur and Sivagalai
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had resumed excavations at Adichanallur in 2003 which are currently in progress. So far, over 160 urns within 600 square metres have been unearthed. From Sivagalai which is 14 kms from Adichanallur, coins, bowls and sherds were excavated.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in Budget 2020 announced that Adichanallur will be developed as an iconic archaeological site with on-site museums.
Findings from Kodumanal
Kodumanal village lies 40 kms south west of Erode situated along the banks of Noyal river. The site is said to have been a bustling industrial and trade centre. 127 artefacts like pot sherds with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, terracotta objects, gold ornaments, punch-marked coins, iron arrowheads, iron sword, beads and animal bones have been collected from this site.
Tamil Nadu State Archaeology department has been collaborating with several reputed institutes such as Madurai Kamaraj University, National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bengaluru), Sharma Centre for Heritage Education (Chennai), Institute of Remote Sensing (Anna University), Vellore Institute of Technology, Deccan College Pune, French Institute Pondicherry, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad), Central University Tiruvarur and Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (Navi Mumbai).