Keeladi excavation site

CHENNAI: Sangam age is generally considered between 300 BC and 300AD. But the Sangam age materials unearthed from the Keeladi excavation site in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu could be dated between 600 BC and 100 AD, scientific examinations have suggested.

The Tamil Nadu state archaeology department that conducted the excavations released the findings on Thursday, after analysing the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) dates obtained from Keeladi materials.

Six carbon samples collected from Keeladi were sent to Beta Analytic Lab in the US for AMS dating. The dates of all six samples fell between the 6th century BC and 3rd Century BC, said commissioner of department of archaeology T Udhayachandran. The result was released after consulting scholars like K Rajan, who also agreed that Keeladi presented strong evidence to some of the hitherto held hypotheses.

“The results suggest that the urbanisation of Vaigai plains happened in Tamil Nadu around 6th century BCE as happened in the Gangetic plains. Likewise, the recent scientific dates obtained for Keeladi findings push back the date of Tamil-Brahmi to 6th century BC,” he said.

These results clearly ascertained that the people who lived in Keeladi attained the literacy or learned the art of writing as early as 6th century BC. The new findings prove that a well advanced urban habitation exited in Keeladi from 600 BC.

Trace of agrarian society and cattle rearing were also noticed. The 70 samples of skeletal fragments collected from Keeladi had been sent to Pune’s Deccan College to analyse the faunal remains.

“Species such as cow, ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, nilgai, blackbuck, wild boar and peacock were identified from the skeletal remains. There was no trace of big animals like elephant. Some skeletal remains are yet to be identified,” he said.

Minister for Tamil official language and Tamil culture K Pandirajan said the new findings would redefine the Sangam era. “It’s a great achievement in the history of the department,” he said after releasing a book on Keeladi. This is the first time a book on Keeladi has been brought out by the department after it began excavation on the site in 2017.

Responding to a question, Pandirajan said the government would open a site museum at Keeladi in March 2020.

Excavation in Keeladi was first conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India’s excavation branch (Bengaluru) in 2014.

