TN launches archaeological excavations for 2022-2023 season

Archaeological excavations in Keeladi, a Sangam-era urban industrialised settlement on the banks of River Vaigai in Madurai from where over 18,000 artefacts have been unearthed in the past eight years, entered the ninth phase on Thursday, even as digging began in seven other locations for the 2022-2023 season.

Chief Minister M K Stalin, who has been maintaining that his government will scientifically prove that India’s history should be rewritten from the Tamil landscape, launched the excavations via videoconferencing from Fort St George, the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government.

The latest excavation is the ninth season for Keeladi, while it entered different phases in its cluster sites of Konthagai, the burial site of the urban settlement in Keeladi, Manalur and Agaram. The excavations entered the third phase in Gangaikondacholapuram, a city built by the famed Chola king Rajendra I, it is the second phase in Vembakottai, and Thulukarpatti.

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Four new locations – Kilnamandi in Tiruvannamalai district, Porpanaikottai (Pudukkottai), Boothinatham (Dharmapuri), and Pattaraiperumbudur (Tiruvallur) – were also added to the list this year. The excavations, which were approved by the Central Advisory Board for Archaeology (CABA), will come to a close in September 2023. A sum of Rs 5 crore has been allotted for the purpose.

“These new excavations are expected to throw up findings which will further enhance our understanding of this (Keeladi) civilization. We expect that the antiquity of these finds in this location will further take back the date of this civilization,” B Chandra Mohan, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Art, Archaeology, and Culture, told DH.

Stalin also launched the Keeladi Augmented Reality App to be used at the brand-new museum in Keeladi village near Madurai. The museum, built at a cost of Rs 18 crore, is spread over an area of 31,000 square feet displaying thousands of artefacts unearthed during the previous phases of excavations.

Archaeological excavations in Tamil Nadu have created a buzz in the past few years with findings from Keeladi and Sivakalai dating back to 2,600 and 3,200 years ago. The DMK government has been according top priority to the archaeology department by allotting enough funds to carry out excavations.

A press release from the government said the excavation in Kilnamandi will explore and sequence the change of period from new stone age to iron age through digging and analysing the burial urns that are likely to be unearthed.

In Porpanaikottai, the excavation will explore and look for evidence to find out its association with the Sangam era, while the digging in Boothinatham will look for evidence of new stone age settlement having existed. The cultural deposit at Pattaraiperumbudur found in 2016 can be divided into Stone age period, Iron age period and Early historical period, the TNSDA said.

Archaeological excavations at seven locations in Tamil Nadu during 2002 yielded nearly 8,000 artefacts of which 2,200 are from Keeladi and cluster sites, Vembakottai (2,985), Gangaikondacholapuram (900), Perumbalai (315), Thulukarpatti (800), Mayiladumparai (415), and Sivakalai (191).

In Gangaikondacholapuram, remains of a palace built by Rajendra I and further traces of ancient trade links with China were the highlights of the excavation done in 2022.