Four major discoveries in Keeladi this week

Besides ring wells and structures that are being unearthed in every season, the eighth phase has thrown up artefacts like a rectangular-shaped ivory dice

Credit: Special Arrangement

Credit: Special Arrangement

Credit: Special Arrangement

Credit: Special Arrangement

The eighth phase of archaeological excavations at the Sangam Era site of Keeladi, 12 kilometres southeast of the temple city of Madurai, continues to surprise archaeologists and enthusiasts with the unearthing of an ivory gamesman, iron knife, antimony rod, and copper pendant in a single day.

In total, Keeladi and its cluster sites of Agaram and Konthagai, the burial site of the inhabitants of the urban, industrialised civilization that existed on the banks of River Vaigai, have yielded over 2,200 artefacts in the eighth phase which will come to a close on September 30.

With this, the number of artefacts found in Keeladi since the excavations began in 2014 has gone up to 18,000 – the first three phases were carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) following which the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) took over.

Besides ring wells and structures that are being unearthed in every season, the eighth phase has thrown up some interesting artefacts like a rectangular-shaped ivory dice.

On September 20, the archaeologists in Keeladi had a field day with the finding of a gamesman, cylindrical in shape with slightly concave lateral sides of the object, made out of ivory in Keeladi.

“The top portion is bulged and has a convex protrusion like a doom, while the base portion is flat. The object is finely burnished and has a smooth texture on its surface,” Dr R Sivanantham, Commissioner, TNSDA, said.

An iron knife, rusted in condition and with a pointed end on one side with relatively thicker and flat section covered by soil and incrustations, was also unearthed on the same day. During the 7th phase last year, the archaeologists had found an iron dagger which was buried deep under the earth.

Sivanantham said another fine specimen of antimony rod was found in the same quadrant (where the knife was found). “It is bent at one side. This elongated specimen of antimony rod is thin and weathered with a clear bulging observed on both ends of the object. The object is corroded in condition,” he added.

Another discovery on the same day is a copper pendant, a flatter object which is folded on one side with a provision for a hole that facilitates it to string with a twine, Sivananthan added.

The artefacts unearthed so far include a terracotta human head figurine, a cuboidal ivory dice and an ear ornament made of ivory, glass beads, apart from terracotta hopscotch, gamesman, spindle whorls, iron objects, bone points, and copper objects.