With structure after structure surfacing from under the soil, the massive scale of an ancient urban centre that lies buried at Pallisanthai Thidal in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu is emerging. The second phase of the work undertaken by excavation branch VI, Bengaluru, of the Archeological Survey of India suggests that the settlement at Keeladi village could be as large as the ones in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The excavations reveal a wellbuilt urban centre with many amenities and could possibly furnish physical evidence of life described in Sangam literature.After exploration works on the Vaigai River bed in 2013-14, the office of the superintending archeologist, excavation branch VI in Bengaluru shortlisted Keeladi village for excavation. The first phase of the study carried out in 2015 unearthed various antiquities, iron implements and earthenware, both foreign and locally made. The potsherds of Arretine dating back to 3 BC proved foreign trade existed in the region during the period.
As the Phase I study con cluded that this was an ancient urban habitation site, the ASI went for the next phase of excavation at Keeladi. According to archaeologists working at the site, the results of Phase II in 53 excavation trenches are breakthroughs. “We feel that this urban habitation could be of the size of Harappa and MohenjoDaro, considering that the mound where we are excavating is of 3.5 km circumference in 80 acres of private agricultural land. We are finding structure after structure of the habitation site, the first of its kind in Tamil Nadu. It could be a huge urban settlement of an independent civilisation on the banks of the Vaigai,“ said K Amarnath Ramakrishna, superintending archaeologist, excavation branch VI of ASI, Ben galuru.
Archaeological excavations were carried out in Tamil Nadu earlier in places like Kaveripoompattinam, Uraiyur, Adichanallur and Arikkamedu in Puducherry . Most of these were burial sites. Keeladi is coming into prominence as it is a habitation site. The bricks unearthed are of various sizes 36 X 22 X 5 cm, 38 X 22 X 6 cm and 34 X 21 X 5 cm, typical of the Sangam era, according to archeologists.
“Keeladi has become of the major archaeological finds. We had found structures earlier, but not these many ,“ says retired archeologist V Vedachalam from Madurai.
Keeladi has also become a spot to visit for eager students and the public.On Sunday , a group of visitors from The Vanavarayar Foundation in Coimbatore who came to the site said they were excited about the antiquities and structures found there.
The current excavation works will go on till September this year and third phase has been proposed with the intention of finding more structures. “We will present the results and hope to undertake the next phase of excavation in the site,“ said Amarnath.
The excavation is lending much credence to the narrative in Sangam literature that throws light on the ancient Tamil way of life. The literature speaks volumes about the public and personal lives of rulers and the people of Tamil Nadu some 2,000 or more years ago. However, there had been no solid evidence in archeology to support the Sangam way of life.
Madurai Kanchi, Nedunalvadai and Paripadal in the literature speak about the Madurai and Pandya kingdoms in the region. “These books talk about the personal lives of kings and queens, their palaces and their way of life. But we could not know exactly where the city mentioned in these texts existed,“ says Vedachalam.
There are many theories about the Madurai mentioned in Sangam literature; that it was somewhere away from the present city on banks of the Vaigai. For instance, Peru manalur, near Keeladi, is said to be ancient Madurai.
In Thiruvilayadalpuranam, written in the13th century, there is a mention about Madurai being shifted from place to place. “However we don't have any evidence about the shifting of the city. The urban establishment excavated at Keeladi is the only evidence that connects it to texts on ancient Madurai, but a lot of research has to be done in this regard,“ said Amarnath.
It appears the urban establishment at Keeladi was abandoned by the 10th century AD.
However, there is no evidence of natural calamities or man-made disasters, say archeologists.