Chennai: The popular line ‘Kal thondri man thondra kaalattin mun thondriya mootha kudi Tamizh kudi’ (Tamil civilisation is older than stone and soil) is making its presence felt with important and interesting details regularly emerging out from the excavations being carried out in some parts of the State.
The head of a terracotta woman figurine, with decorated hair like goddess Meenakshi and Vaishnavite minstrel Andal, was found during an archaeological excavation at Agaram in Sivaganga district recently.
Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archaeology Minister Thangam Thennarasu said, “It is an interesting finding since we believe such hair decorations developed only in the later period. The head, with an ornate hair-bun, seems to disprove the assumption.”
The excavations that resumed recently at Maligaimedu near Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district have led to the discovery of an ancient drain-like structure, but exact details would be revealed only after a full review, said officials of the Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA).
Following the first phase of excavation, carried out in March at Maligaimedu, in which antique items, including roof tiles, pottery, iron nails and copper coins were unearthed, intense research was carried out on the village. The second wave of Covid-19, however, brought excavation to a halt in May, but work resumed from 15 June after relaxations were announced by the State government.
Meanwhile, archaeologists at the Keezhadi archaeological site in Sivagangai district have unearthed a creative artwork of wells with multiple terracotta rings. This came days after the team unearthed dozens of plain ring wells, dating more than 2,000 years old, indicative of the ancient water conservation technology. The set of ring wells, unearthed on 5 July, were found at a depth of 146 centimetres.
An intact offering pot was found during the excavation at Mayiladumparai, a megalithic site, in Krishnagiri district.
“It was found intact 72 cm below the ground at the western side of the pit burial with a capstone at the excavation site. It is a red-ware pot, and its height is 25 cm and radius 20 cm. The rim measures 12 cm,” said Thennarasu.
The archeological excavation being undertaken at Korkai region in Tuticorin district unearthed a 2,000-year-old brick structure. The seven-layered structure has evinced the interest of the archeology enthusiasts in the State.
Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) granted necessary approvals to Tamilnadu Department of Archaeology to carry out the excavations at Korkai, Adichanallur and Sivagalai among seven archeological sites in the State for the financial year 2020-21.