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:

1. Keezhadi/ Keeladi is a village in Sivagangai district, 12 km southeast of Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
2. The region is being unearthed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD).
3. 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.
4. The evidences unearthed also establishes the existence of an urban settlement of Sangam Age on the banks of the river Vaigai at Keeladi.
5. The ancient towns of Kondagai and Manalur are also said to be associated with this region.

Findings:

1. 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.

2. The archaeological evidences provide significant corelation to the Sangam Literature’s descriptions by Tamil poets.
3. The findings have estimated that Sangam era could have commenced much earlier to the current assumption of 300 BC.
4. The Tamil-Brahmi scripts have been pushed to date around 6^th century BCE instead of the assumed 5^th century BCE.
5. 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. 
6. 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
7. The letters engraved in pottery reflect the high level of literacy of the society in 6^th century BCE and show a close resemblance to Indus valley signs.

8. Absence of coins represents the existence of population dependent in the Barter system.
9. The Keeladi civilisation had enough surplus to spend on precious adornment, industry and leisure/ fun.

10. No signs of religious worship have been found.
11. 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)