New Window Into Old Times

Excavations at Keeladi have the potential to throw light on the civilisational antiquity of the ancient Tamil country and its people.

- R.Sivanantham and Sundar Ganesan

The first major urban settlement to be unearthed in India was Rajgir, or “Rajagriha” (abode of the king), in Bihar’s Nalanda district and it was assigned to the 6th century BCE. Rajgirwas excavated as early as 1905; since then, several excavations have been conducted and sites discovered around the region. Archaeologists confirmed that this was part of the Second Urbanisation Phase in India, the first being Mohenjo-daro and Harappa even though they were discovered only in 1924. Urban settlements are usually large and characterised by brick structures, industrial activity and water management, with agricultural and economic activities. A Second Urbanisation Phase situated in the southwas never considered a possibility. It is in this context that the excavations at Keeladi have provided a new window to historians.

In 2014, when the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was digging at Keeladi, the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) was excavating at Alagankulam, a port city of the Pandya kings located where the Vaigai river meets the Bay of Bengal.

The Alagankulam excavations were carried out for seven seasons (a season usually runs from October to September) and evidence of four distinct cultures was unearthed: 4th century BCE to 1st century CE,where black and red ware (BRW) were found; 1st century CE to 2nd century CE where rouletted ware, amphorae and Roman coins were unearthed; 2nd century CE to 4th century CE in which BRW, grey ware and a specially named Alagankulam Ware (ceramics are usually compared with similar typology and for this ware there was no comparison, hence the name) were found; and in the topmost layer, Chola coins and Chinese ware were unearthed.