ASI submits 982-page report on Keeladi excavations

Nine years after it launched archaeological excavations in Keeladi, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has compiled a detailed report running into over 900 pages on the findings during the first two phases of the digging at the Sangam-era site and their significance.

Superintending Archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna, whose name is now synonymous with Keeladi, handed over the voluminous report in New Delhi on Monday to V Vidyavathi, Director General of ASI. Keeladi is a village located 12 km southeast of the ancient city of Madurai on the banks of River Vaigai.

The 982-page report has 12 chapters that explains the historical background and objective of the excavation, dwell into the structural remains, potteries, graffiti shreds, terracotta objects, and different types of coins that were found during the excavations from 2014 to 2016.

Over a dozen potteries and decorated potteries, including black and red ware, red slipped ware, perforated ware, applique decoration, jackfruit design, and incised decoration were found in the excavations along with terracotta beads, glass beads, shell beads, ivory beads, and pearl beads. Terracotta objects like human and animal figurines, pendants, ivory objects, metal objects, glass objects, and stone objects were also unearthed from Keeladi.

The report has a separate chapter discussing the AMS dating of 23 samples done by world-renowned Beta Analytical Lab, Florida, US, and universities in India that establish the time period of the site, faunal remains from the site, and phytolith and pollen analyses at Keeladi, a source in the know told DH.

Another source said a report on scientific studies and characterisation of silver punch marked coins and copper coins found from the site is also included in the voluminous book. The ASI report is very important as the agency explicitly announced in 2017 that there were “no significant findings” in the third phase of excavation after unearthing over 5,500 artefacts in the first two rounds.

Ramakrishna, who was quite vocal about the findings and called Keeladi a Sangam-era site, was transferred to Assam immediately after the second phase ended.

The transfer and ASI’s “no findings” in the third phase announcement led to a massive controversy which was put to an end only after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court asked the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) to take over the excavations from the fourth phase.

However, since then, the TNSDA has unearthed over 13,000 artefacts over five seasons from 2018 to 2022. The ninth phase is expected to be launched next month.

The report with images and detailed drawings of the trenches and the artefacts found in the first two phase was completed in a year’s time, a record time for the ASI. Ramakrishna, who was transferred back to Chennai as Superintending Archaeologist (temple survey) in October 2021 began writing the report along with his team in December 2021.

“The report is very comprehensive and has identified the period to which the site could belong to. It is a scientific report based on results from carbon dating of artefacts by various agencies including Beta Analytical Lab, Florida, US, and analyses by pantologists,” another source told DH.

The ASI’s findings come over three years after the TNSDA in 2019 announced that the artefacts found during the fourth phase date back to 580 BCE, pushing the Sangam Era by three centuries than it was thought to be, making it contemporaneous with the Gangetic Plains Civilization of north India.

The ASI report has proved through evidence why Keeladi is a Sangam-era site which was an urban industrialized settlement, the sources said. Archaeologists who worked in Keeladi at different times say overwhelming evidence of industries based on beads and terracotta having existed there were unearthed in the past eight years.

DH had on November 18, 2022, reported that detailed analyses of plants and soil from Keeladi have shown that surplus production of rice in the area might have paved the way for increase in trade 2,000 years ago.

“This finding by the French Institute of Pondicherry has been included in the report,” the source said. Archaeologists who worked in Keeladi at different times told DH that overwhelming evidence of industries based on beads and terracotta having existed there were unearthed in the past eight years. The 9th phase of excavation is likely to begin in February.

As many as 5,800 artefacts were unearthed during the first two phases but the ASI withdrew from the excavations after it announced that there was no “significant finding” in the third phase. Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) took over in 2017 and has conducted five phases of excavation so far. It is likely to launch the nineth round next year.
So far, 18,000 artefacts have been unearthed from Keeladi, bearing testimony to the rich urban life ancient Tamils had lived, thereby providing further archaeological evidence to the Sangam Literature. In Sivakalai, 170 km from Keeladi, paddy husks found in a burial urn has found to be 3,200 years old.

These archaeological findings have created a buzz with researchers and archaeologists in Tamil Nadu calling them significant as they “narrow down” the gap between the Tamil urban settlements and the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC). However, they say “more evidence” should be forthcoming, while experts outside Tamil Nadu categorically rule out any link between Keeladi and IVC.