It’s raining artefacts as curtains set to draw on excavations in Tamil Nadu

A view of a brick structure in Gangaikondacholapuram. Credit: TNSDA

A view of the site in Perumbalai. Credit: TNSDA

A female figurine unearthed in Vembakkottai. Credit: TNSDA

A dice unearthed in Keeladi. Credit: TNSDA

A structure in Keeladi. Credit: TNSDA

Remains of a palace built by King Rajendra I of the famed Chola dynasty, further traces of ancient trade links with China, rectangular and cubic dices made of ivory and terracotta and a heap of carnelian beads inside a burial urn in Keeladi and Konthagai -- these are some of the exciting results of the latest round of archaeological excavations in Tamil Nadu.

Over 7,800 artefacts – including 2,200 from Keeladi, the Sangam Era site on the banks of River Vaigai where evidences of an industrialised, urban civilization continue to be unearthed, have been excavated from the seven sites, where digging by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) will come to an end this month.

The archaeological excavations in Tamil Nadu have created a buzz in the past few years as they threw up surprises – artefacts unearthed in Keeladi near Madurai pushed the Sangam Era to 600 BCE from 300 BCE, rice husks found in a burial urn in Sivakalai was found to be 3,200 years old, and that Tamils were aware the iron technology in 2172 BCE, 4,200 years ago.

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Keeladi and its cluster sites have yielded 2,233 artefacts and 60 burial urns, while the number stands at 191 in Sivakalai, 2,985 in Vembakkottai, 900 in Gangaikondacholapuram, 315 in Perumbalai, 800 in Thulukarpatti and 415 in Mayiladumparai.

The archaeological excavations come amidst repeated assertions by Chief Minister M K Stalin that his government will take every step to scientifically prove that India’s history will have to be rewritten from the Tamil landscape, in the light of findings in Keeladi and Sivakalai.

Gangaikondacholapuram and the palace

At Gangaikondacholapuram in Ariyalur district, a town developed by Rajendra I in memory of his father late Raja Raja Cholan who built the world-famous Thanjavur Brihadeeswarar Temple, archaeologists have unearthed remains of the Chola palace which includes a 30 brick-course, 3-metre structure, and iron nails of various sizes.

TNSDA is exposing the buried structure (palace) to understand the plan of the palace. In the course of digging, some trenches revealed structural activities. Burnt bricks with the measurements of 27x13x5 cm and 30x15x8 cm, while roofing tiles also were found in various sizes.

“While the surface structure is made of bricks, the superstructure is made of wood and a large granite stone has been used to cover the underground. These remains give us a sneak peek into the engineering marvel that Cholas were well-versed with,” R Sivananthan, Commissioner, TNSDA, told DH.

Antiquities like iron objects (nails), copper objects, copper coins, ivory objects, glass beads and bangle fragments, hopscotches, terracotta objects and ceramics like coursed red ware, red ware, black ware, black slipped ware, decorated ware and Chinese ware (Celadon and Porcelain) have been unearthed, implying trade links with Chinese.

“The trade between China and the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas have been documented well and the recovery of such artefacts are yet another demonstration of the links,” he said.

The Sangam Era site of Keeladi and Konthagai

On Keeladi, which is older the Mauryan Empire according to carbon dating analyses of artefacts, Sivananthan said the unearthing of ring wells – two this season – through the eight phases of excavation so far bolsters the view that the site was an industrialised, urban civilisation.

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“Ring wells were constructed for the use of industries in Keeladi some 2,600 years back to draw water. Some of the major recoveries from Keeladi, this phase, is rectangular cube-shaped dices made of ivory and terracotta which tells us about the recreational activities of the ancient Tamils. We have also unearthed proper structures in Keeladi,” Sivananthan added.

At Konthagai, perceived to be the burial site of Keeladi, as many as 60 burial urns have been found so far and nearly 25 urns are intact while the remaining are damaged. For the first time since excavation began in Konthagai in 2020, 74 carnelian beads, which are barrel in shape, a carnelian bead were found to be etched inside an urn. Sediment scrapings and bones to Madurai Kamaraj University which will conduct a DNA analysis at its newly-developed centre.

Sivananthan said the TNSDA has sent artefacts and other materials unearthed in the latest phase for carbon dating and DNA analysis to various institutions across the globe to get to their bottom.

As many as 1,625 antiquities were found in Keeladi with a terracotta human head figurine, a cuboidal ivory dice and an ear ornament made of ivory emerging as interesting finds. The antiquities were dominated by glass beads, apart from terracotta hopscotch, gamesman, spindle whorls, iron objects, bone points, and copper objects.

Vembakkottai and its significance

At Vembakkottai in Virudhunagar district, a microlithic site, there was no dull moment in the past eight months after the excavation got underway in February this year. The excavation reveals continuous habitation right from pre historic-medieval times and semi-precious stone beads like carnelian, agate, amethyst and crystal were unearthed during the first phase of excavation.

“More number of glass beads in various colour, shell bangles, glass bangles, terracotta beads, spindle whorls, terracotta gamesmen, smoking pipes, terracotta pendent, toy objects, terracotta figurines, terracotta weighing units, iron objects and copper objects were also found since the excavation began in February,” an Archaeological Officer said.

The potteries collected from Vembakottai are classified into five types as red ware, red slipped ware, black slipped ware, black and red ware, and brown slipped ware.

Terracotta figurines of both male and female, ivory objects, pieces of gold, figurines of bird and other animals, and shell bangles are some of the artefacts that were buried deep. The TNSDA plans to continue its excavations in Vembakkottai as it has identified a 50-acre area where it believes lies a heap of artefacts.

Thulukarpatti, Sivakalai, and Perumbalai

At Thulukarpatti in Tirunelveli district, Sivananthan said, the archaeological excavations are being held to go into the cultural and ceramic sequence of Adichanallur and Sivakalai, where rice husks found in a burial urn date back to 3,200 years ago.

“While we got grafittis and inscribed pottery inside the burial urns found in Konthagai, we didn’t find any grafittis in urns in Sivakalai. This could be because Sivakalai, for now, is older than Keeladi and Konthagai. The excavation at Thulukarpatti will help us in the research on Adichanallur and Sivakalai to arrive at a date for the sites,” he said.

At Perumbalai, the present excavation yielded 315 antiquities like hopscotches, spindle whorls, iron objects, shell bangles, glass bangles and stone objects, and more than 500 graffiti pot sherds. An Archaeological Officer said the graffiti marks are mostly signs of auspicious nature, and abstract signs.