Amid the ongoing 10th phase of archaeological excavation in Keeladi, a terracotta pipeline has been found, further indicating presence of an ancient water management practice followed by people at least 2,600 years ago, officials familiar with the matter said. Previously, the archaeologists found an open drain, a closed channel and small tanks in Keeladi.
One of the officials said that the latest finding of a pipeline is a cylindrical structure. Six such structures have been found to make one long pipeline. Each cylindrical structure is 36 cm in length and 18 cm in width.
“The six cylindrical structures are neatly fitted together. The entire pipeline is at a length of about 174 cm. This has been fully unearthed now. This pipeline continues to the adjacent trench. This could have been used for carrying protected water,” an official of the archaeology department said.
Keeladi, the Sangam Era site 12 km south-east of Madurai, is dated to be at least 2,600 years old that had a thriving industrialised settlement on the banks of Vaigai river. Tamil Nadu in June launched its ambitious archaeological excavations in four existing sites, including Keeladi, and fresh digging at four new sites as part of its efforts to “scientifically prove” that India’s history should be rewritten from the Tamil landscape.
One of the significant findings last year was the discovery of 2,030 graffiti marks, including four with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, from Thulukkarpatti in Tirunelveli district. Scientific dates obtained through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating of samples collected from archaeological sites excavated by the Tamil Nadu state department of archaeology (TNSDA) have pushed the origin of Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) script by hundred years to 7th century BCE. The state government is embarking on a comparative study of the graffiti marks, potsherds, with those from the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC).
{{/usCountry}}One of the significant findings last year was the discovery of 2,030 graffiti marks, including four with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, from Thulukkarpatti in Tirunelveli district. Scientific dates obtained through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating of samples collected from archaeological sites excavated by the Tamil Nadu state department of archaeology (TNSDA) have pushed the origin of Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) script by hundred years to 7th century BCE. The state government is embarking on a comparative study of the graffiti marks, potsherds, with those from the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC).
{{/usCountry}}Artefacts unearthed in Keeladi have pushed the Sangam era to 600 BCE from 300 BCE, rice husks found in a burial urn in Sivakalai was found to be 3,200 years old, and that Tamils were aware of iron technology in 2172 BCE, 4,200 years ago. The carbon dating pushed the Sangam era by 300 years that it was thought to be. Keeladi was first discovered in 2014 by Amarnath Ramakrishna of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).