Tamil Nadu: Chettinad architecture for museum at Sangam-era site of Keeladi

Credit: DH Photo/ETB Sivapriyan

Credit: DH Photo/ETB Sivapriyan

Credit: DH Photo/ETB Sivapriyan

On a dusty road in Keeladi, a tiny village near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, a striking white-red structure is a hive of activity. The building, which looks like a sprawling mansion at first look, has been built in the traditional Chettinad style.

Red terracotta tiles make up the roof and traditional Athangudi tiles, reflecting the architectural character of the region, have been used for the flooring. It is almost ready except for some pending interior work.

Built at a cost of over Rs 15 crore, the structure will eventually host the Keeladi Heritage Museum, where the wealth of artefacts unearthed in the village, will be displayed, providing visitors a glimpse into the past.

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The museum, a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA), is likely to be inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin in the next couple of months.

The plan for now, according to sources in the government, is to display the majority of over 11,000 artefacts that have been unearthed at Keeladi by the TNSDA since it took over the excavations in 2017. Antiquities found by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 2014 and 2016 will also be showcased at the museum.

Spread over an area of 30,000 square feet, the museum will have six display halls – only ground floor in three, two with mezzanine floors and one with mezzanine and first floor – and an auditorium where visitors will be treated to documentaries on excavations in Keeladi and their significance.

“An interactive museum is our plan as mere display of artefacts won’t suffice now. While displaying original artefacts and their replicas, we will explain their significance in words as well as in video and audio. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality tools will be used to make the museum interesting, besides wall-mounted displays,” a government source told DH.

The display halls have been designed in a way that they get natural sunlight and ample ventilation, while utmost care has been taken to perfect the Chettinad architecture in pillars, and in courtyards, that will allow visitors to sit and enjoy the outer structures. Kal Mandapam (stone hall) which will also couple up as an open-air theatre will be used to host events.

Just 12 km southeast of Madurai, Keeladi is located in Sivaganga district which is home to the Chettinad region of the state, and hence the government decided to build the museum in conventional flavour. Various types of lamps and their holders inside the display halls also reflect the regional flavour.

“One of the pillars at the sixth display hall, which is the largest of all spread over 13,000 square feet, was brought from a house in the Chettinad region after it was removed from there,” another source told DH.

On display would be artefacts like dice made of ivory and terracotta, male and female figurines made of terracotta, iron dagger, and punch-mark coins. The source also added that the museum might also display replicas of the trenches and some of the urns that were unearthed in Konthagai, believed to be the burial site of inhabitants of Keeladi.

The government also believes Keeladi will turn into a major tourist destination after the museum is thrown open. “There are no major tourist attractions in this part of the district, and we believe Keeladi can fill that gap,” another source said.

The excavations in Keeladi have created a huge buzz as carbon dating of artefacts found in the fourth phase show they belong to 600 BCE, pushing the Sangam Era behind by three centuries than it was thought and making it contemporaneous with the Gangetic Plains Civilization of north India.

Detailed analyses of plants and soil from Keeladi have also shown that surplus production of rice in the area might have paved the way for increase in trade 2,000 years ago.

The ASI is also in the process of completing its report on the first two phases of the excavation – it backed out after the third phase following which the Madras High Court asked the TNSDA to take over the excavations.