TRICHY: A five-foot-tall stone inscription belonging to the Chola era was found by a group of archaeologists at Sellikudi village in Pudukkottai district. According to archaeologists, the inscription praises a renowned Tamil merchant guild Thisaiayiraththu Ainnurruvar. Based on the style of inscription, archaeologists said that it should date back to the 10th and 11th century.The inscription was first spotted by a member of the heritage club from a government high school in Elaipatti, which was touring Sellikudi village near Annavasal town in the district. The team subsequently informed Pudukkottai Archaeological Research forum about its find.After on-field study by the archaeologists, the inscription was found engraved on all four sides and bore an emblem in the topmost surface. The first few lines of stone inscription were found in Grantha script followed by inscriptions in Tamil praising the mightiness of Thisaiayiraththu Ainnurruvar, a renowned merchant guild.Members of the merchant group, known for having ties with east Asian nations have served as ambassadors between kingdoms enjoying royal rights owing to their vast trade coverage. “Inscription commencing with seven lines of invocation to god speaks about key members of Ainnurruvar merchant group and their background. We could decipher it by finding the words chetti seerputhiran and kavarai (merchant). The top surface of inscription has an emblem with conch, eagle and weapon,” A Manikandan, founder of Pudukkottai Archaeological Research forum said.Since the merchant guild travels with precious commodities, the inscription also talks about security guards travelling along with the merchants and names of soldiers such as pathinen kodi pasha veera singan and paavadai veeran.“Based on paleography, the inscription found in Pudukkottai should date back between the 10th and 11th century. Merchant groups like Ainnurruvar will have exclusive symbol for them as found in top surface of inscription,” said V Narayanamoorthy, another archaeologist opined.The fourth side of the inscription was found in a damaged state and there is no mention about its period. Since the inscription is engraved with a title pazhiyali kallidaikodi thalai, archaeologists said that such title was given to chieftains in Rajendra Chola I period.The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been alerted about the find for detailed study and to safeguard the inscription.