Ancient Civilisation unearthed at Keeladi
09 Aug 2023 6 mins Download PDF
Ancient Civilisation unearthed at Keeladi
Why in the News?
A weighing unit made of quartz crystal has been unearthed for the first time in Keeladi excavation site in Tamil Nadu.
Keeladi excavation Site:
- Keezhadi/ Keeladi is a village in Sivagangai district, 12 km southeast of Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
- The region is being unearthed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD).
- Five phases of excavation in the site have revealed that the antiquities unearthed here could date from the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century CE.
- The evidences unearthed also establishes the existence of an urban settlement of Sangam Age on the banks of the river Vaigai at Keeladi.
- The ancient towns of Kondagai and Manalur are also said to be associated with this region.
Findings:
- Existence of a Tamil civilisation that had trade links with other regions in the country and abroad.
For instance, an orange carnelian bead engraved with the image of a wild boar was unearthed. Carnelian stones are not found in Tamil Nadu but only in North-western parts of India, which reflects a possible ancient north-south trade link.
- The archaeological evidences provide significant corelation to the Sangam Literature’s descriptions by Tamil poets.
- The findings have estimated that Sangam era could have commenced much earlier to the current assumption of 300 BC.
- The Tamil-Brahmi scripts have been pushed to date around 6th century BCE instead of the assumed 5th century BCE.
- Th artefacts found could date as far as 580 BCE or 2600 years ago. The artefacts unearthed includes,
- Brick structures
- Terracotta ring wells
- Fallen roofing with tiles
- Golden ornaments
- Broken parts of copper objects
- Iron implements
- Terracotta chess pieces
- Ear ornaments
- Spindle whorls
- Figurines
- Black and red pottery ware
- Few pieces of arretine ware
- Beads made of glass, terracotta and semi-precious stones.
- Potters of Keeladi were aware of the technique of
- Using carbon material for black colour and hematite for red
- Raising the kiln temperature to 1100°c
- The letters engraved in pottery reflect the high level of literacy of the society in 6th century BCE and show a close resemblance to Indus valley signs.
- Absence of coins represents the existence of population dependent in the Barter system.
- The Keeladi civilisation had enough surplus to spend on precious adornment, industry and leisure/ fun.
- No signs of religious worship have been found.
- Water-management infrastructure with three kinds of channels for transporting different qualities of water:
- Sewage
- Industrial waste
- Fresh water
Link: Crystal quartz weighing unit found in Tamil Nadu's Keeladi (msn.com)
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