Knowledge Nugget | Tenkasi excavation in Tamil Nadu: What makes it a landmark archaeological discovery?
What has Tamil Nadu's latest excavation uncovered? How is it reshaping our understanding of the region's past? What are the other recently excavated sites? Here's all you need to know.
The excavation, being carried out by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA), has opened 18 trenches so far and forms part of the state’s broader archaeological programme that also includes Keeladi. Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your UPSC Current Affairs knowledge nugget for today on Tenkasi excavation.
Knowledge Nugget: Tenkasi excavation and other recently excavated sites
Subject: History
Why in the news?
On the banks of the Vaippar river in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi district at Malayadipatti near Karivalamvanthanallur, excavations have been underway since April. The excavations are slowly uncovering the story of a settlement that appears to have survived — and evolved — for thousands of years. Each trench is adding another layer to a remarkably continuous sequence of human occupation. In this context, let’s learn what the key findings of the Tenkasi excavations and some recent other excavations are.
Key Takeaways:
1. From tiny microlithic stone tools left behind by some of the region’s earliest inhabitants to expansive Sangam-era brick structures, iron-working evidence and craft-production debris, the Tenkasi excavation is emerging as one of southern Tamil Nadu’s most significant archaeological landscapes.
2. Unlike northern Tamil Nadu, where archaeology has established a clearer transition from the Microlithic to the Neolithic and then the Iron Age, Karivalamvanthanallur appears to follow a different trajectory.
3. Archaeologists say the evidence points to continuous occupation from the Microlithic period through the Iron Age and into the Early Historic and Historic periods, bypassing the Neolithic or Chalcolithic phases — a cultural sequence that mirrors discoveries at sites such as Mangudi, Sivagalai and Adichanallur.
4. The discoveries made so far point towards an organised industrial settlement. Archaeologists have recovered hematite used for iron extraction, iron implements, large quantities of glass beads, terracotta figurines, graffiti-marked pottery, hopscotch pieces, black-and-red ware and other ceramics associated with the Early Historic period.
5. One of the excavation’s most significant finds is a large brick structure measuring about 8.7 metres by 4.2 metres, built with bricks measuring 40 x 20 x 7 centimetres. The structure, which includes descending steps, is believed to have served either as an underground granary or a rainwater harvesting tank.
6. Its design has prompted archaeologists to consider the possibility of sophisticated water management despite the settlement’s proximity to the Vaippar river.
7. The dimensions and style of the bricks resemble those found at Keeladi, Alagankulam and Poompuhar, suggesting that the structure belongs to the Early Historic or Sangam period.
8. Archaeologists unearthed a red-slipped burial pot decorated with painted peacocks on its shoulder. Molar and premolar teeth recovered outside the vessel, along with a black-and-red ware pot placed beneath it, suggest it served as a burial urn.
9. Researchers note that peacocks have previously been associated with burials at Porunthal and even in Harappan Cemetery-H contexts. Similar vessels discovered at Harappa, Hulas and Bhirrana depict peacocks with recumbent human figures enclosed within their bodies, suggesting ritual significance. Sangam literature, particularly Akananuru, also refers to decorating memorial stones with peacock feathers, lending literary resonance to the archaeological evidence.
Significance of Karivalamvanthanallur Excavations
10. The site’s importance was first recognised nearly a century ago after Roman coins were reported from the region. The then Tirunelveli Deputy Collector, L A Cammiade, surveyed the area, while the Madras Museum’s 1932-33 annual report documented glass beads and burial urns collected from local residents.
11. Those early references have now acquired fresh significance as archaeologists uncover evidence suggesting the settlement was not merely inhabited over centuries, but also functioned as a manufacturing centre.
12. The excavation has drawn attention because it appears to bridge archaeology and ancient Tamil literature.
13. The evidence emerging from Karivalamvanthanallur increasingly suggests that this was not simply a habitation site but a specialised production centre connected to wider trade networks. Located along an ancient route linking the eastern and western coasts, the settlement appears to have combined habitation, manufacturing and commerce over successive historical periods.
14. The findings also add another chapter to Tamil Nadu’s growing body of archaeological evidence that has steadily reshaped understanding of the region’s antiquity.
15. Karivalamvanthanallur may yet reveal how one settlement endured across millennia – its people adapting, manufacturing and leaving behind a continuous archaeological record stretching from the Stone Age to the flourishing urban culture of the Sangam age.
Sangam literatureRecognised as the earliest literature from South India, Sangam refers to a group of texts written in old Tamil. The corpus includes eight anthologies of poems, 10 idylls, a work on grammar, and 18 minor works. Altogether, there are about 2,381 poems by 473 poets and 102 poems by anonymous authors. While scholars are divided about the precise dates of the Sangam texts, there is a general understanding that they were composed between the third century BCE and the third century CE. The Sangam poems are classified into two types: akam and puram. While akam poetry focuses on love, puram poems explore subjects like war, death, community, and kingdom. |
Keezhadi (or Keeladi) excavation
1. Initiated in 2014 and led by archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishnaunder the ASI, the Keezhadi (or Keeladi) excavation ( a historic excavation site located 12 km southeast of Madurai in Tamil Nadu) revealed remnants of an advanced urban civilisation — brick structures, industrial furnaces, drainage systems, graffiti-marked pottery, and terracotta artefacts.
2. Notably, the findings — which include evidence of trade, such as carnelian beads, and literacy, in the form of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions on potsherds — paint a compelling picture of a flourishing civilisation in South India dating back much further than previously believed.
The weighing unit, found 175 cm beneath the ground, is the first of its kind since excavations began in Keeladi in 2014. (Express Photo)
3. Recently, archaeologists working at Keeladi have unearthed a crystal quartz weighing unit from the Sangam era.In addition, archaeologists also found a terracotta hopscotch, an iron nail, black and red ware, and red slipped ware. Archaeologists also found an earthen snake figurine.
4. The discoveries at Keezhadi are significant not only for Tamil Nadu, but for all of India, as they challenge long-standing historical narratives and offer proof that urbanisation may have developed parallelly in different regions of the Subcontinent.
5. Adrija Roychowdhury of The Indian Express writes in ‘Proximity to Madurai put Keeladi on archaeological map, the findings there took village to centre of Tamil consciousness’– Archaeologists working at the site say enough scientific evidence has now been found to suggest that civilisation and literacy emerged in the south as far back in time as the sixth century BCE, disproving what we knew till now of these changes first taking place in the Gangetic plains of the north.
| Did you know?
The Iron Age in South India is closely associated with the Megalithic Culture, known for stone circles, dolmens, cairns, cists and urn burials. |
BEYOND THE NUGGET: Ratnagiri Excavation
1. The excavation work at the 5th-13th century Buddhist complex in Ratnagiri has unearthed a colossal Buddha head, a massive palm, an ancient wall, and inscribed Buddhist relics, all of which are estimated to date back to the 8th and 9th centuries AD. It has underlined the significance of Ratnagiri in Odisha’s Jajpur district as a prominent Buddhist historical site.
2. The first excavations were carried out between 1958 and 1961 by Debala Mitra, an archaeologist who eventually served as ASI’s first woman director general (1981-83). However, the site was not excavated further after 1961, even though a number of other structures and sculptures were partially visible. Instead, the ASI turned its attention to other Buddhist sites in Odisha.
A view of the excavation site in Ratnagiri, Odisha. ( Express photo)
3. Ratnagiri, literally “Hill of Jewels”, is located 100 km northeast of Bhubaneswar. It stands on a hill between Birupa and Brahmani rivers and is Odisha’s most famous — and the most excavated – Buddhist site.
4. Ratnagiri is one of the three points of Odisha’s famous Diamond Triangle along with Udaygiri and Lalitgiri. All three Buddhist heritage sites are located close to each other in the Jajpur and Cuttack districts of southeastern Odisha.
LalitgiriAccording to the Odisha tourism site, Lalitgiri is also known as Naltigiri among locals, and it is one of the oldest of the Buddhist diamond triangle of Odisha. One of the important findings from the site is the relic casket comprising four containers made of Khondalite, Steatite, Silver, and Gold. It is speculated that the relics belonged to Lord Buddha. |
5. The Ratnagiri site is believed to be an important early centre of the Vajrayana (or Tantrayana) school of Buddhism which believed in acquiring mystical power through Vajra, meaning thunderbolt or diamond. That is why the three Buddhist sites in Odisha are called the ‘Diamond Triangle.’
UdaygiriUdaygiri is the biggest of the three and is located between the foothills of two mountains ranges of the Eastern Ghats. This site is often confused with Udaygiri and Khandagiri Caves of Bhubaneswar. According to the Odisha tourism site, an important aspect of this site is the fact that unlike Ratnagiri and Lalitgiri there are no sculptures or scriptures found so far at this site that link it to Vajrayana tantric cult. |
6. The Ratnagiri monastery is the only Buddhist monastery in India with a curvilinear roof. Historical evidence suggests that at its peak, the monastery was home to around 500 monks, who followed the Tantrayana form of Buddhism.
Post Read Questions
Which are the historical/cultural sites often called as a part of ‘The Diamond Triangle’:
(a) Ratnagiri, Udaygiri, and Lalitgiri
(b) Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda
(c) Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Elphanta Caves
(d) Brihadeeswarar Temple, Meenakshi Temple, Chidambaram temple
Answer Key
(a)
(Sources: Stone Age tools to Sangam-era workshops: What a Tamil Nadu excavation has revealed, Knowledge Nugget: How is Keeladi excavation relevant for UPSC Exam?)
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Roshni Yadav is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She is an alumna of the University of ... Read More
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