Tamil Nadu on Tuesday launched ambitious archaeological excavations at four existing sites, including the Sangam-era Keeladi, and also began fresh excavations at four new sites, as part of an effort to “scientifically prove” that Indian history should be rewritten from the Tamil landscape.
Keeladi, a Sangam-era site 12 km southeast of Madurai, dates back at least 2,600 years and was the site of a thriving industrialised settlement on the banks of the Vaigai river, according to a government statement. Excavations will continue at different phases at the four remaining sites at Kirunamandi (Tiruvannamalai), Vembakottai (Virudhunagar) and Poluppanai Kottai (Pudukkottai).
The four new sites are at Chennanur, Kongalnagaram (Tiruppur), Malungur (Cuddalore) and Tirumalpuram (Tenkasi) in Krishnagiri district.
Stalin inaugurated the archaeological excavation through a video conference from the state secretariat in Chennai. The excavation had been approved by the Central Advisory Committee for Archaeology (CABA) earlier this year. However, due to the Model Code of Conduct that came into force for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the excavation could not be carried out.
One of the key discoveries last year was the discovery of 2,030 graffiti marks at Thulukkapatti in Tirunelveli district, four of which had inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi. Scientific dating of samples taken from the site excavated by the Tamil Nadu State Archaeological Agency (TNSDA) using Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (AMS) has pushed back the origin of the Tamil (Tamil Brahmi) script by 100 years to the 7th century BC. The state government has begun a comparative study of the graffiti marks and pottery fragments with those from the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC).
Artefacts excavated at Keeladi have dated the Sangam period back to 300 BC to 600 BC, rice husks found in a burial jar at Sivakarai have been found to be 3,200 years old, and it has been found that Tamils knew about iron technology as early as 2172 BC, 4,200 years ago. Carbon dating has pushed the Sangam period back by 300 years than previously thought.
Excavations will be carried out at eight sites during the 2022-2023 season, unearthing around 10,000 artefacts, including terracotta figurines, glass beads, carnelian beads, ironware, bronze tiger miniatures, gold and engraved coins.
“There is still a long way to go for recent archaeological findings to fill the cultural and chronological gaps in our long and glorious history,” the government statement said.
After the excavations began, archaeological digs have entered the 10th phase at Keeladi, the third phase at Vembakottai and the second phase at Kirunamandi and Polupanaikottai. Officials said archaeologists will look for evidence of high tin bronze at Tirumalapuram, the Iron Age at Malungur and the Neolithic period at Chennanur.