The main objective of the archaeological excavations in Keeladi was to find a habitation site, said Director of National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities K. Amarnath Ramakrishna.
Mr. Ramakrishna discovered the archaeological site at Keeladi and led the first two seasons of the excavations between 2014 and 2016. He has submitted a 982-page report to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
He was making a presentation on ‘Why Keeladi Excavation is so significant for the study of Sangam period in Tamil Nadu’ at an international symposium on ‘Recent scientific studies in archaeology of Tamil Nadu’, conducted in Madurai by Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology.
Mr. Ramakrishna said no systematic and large-scale archaeological excavations had been carried out in the Vaigai river valley till the Keeladi archaeological excavations. In 2013-14, the ASI conducted a survey of 293 sites and 170 new sites.
The main objective was to try to find a habitation site and understand Madurai which was a continuous inhabited city. There were several burial patterns in Tamil Nadu. The idea was to try to find out who were the builders of the burials and where they lived. The approach was to find the habitation site related to the burials, he said.
Based on this, we came across nearly 100 habitation sites in the region which was a major discovery. Keeladi was finally shortlisted, he said, adding though we were having habitation sites in Tamil Nadu they had not been properly documented.
The idea was to try to see the cultural sequence and understand the cultural transformation in the form of Sangam age and how habitation and urbanisation came to exist, he said.
He said the delay in sending the samples for dating had affected the chronology of the site. If the samples were sent immediately, the accurate date would also be available immediately, he said, stressing on the importance of sending the samples for dating as soon as possible.
The cultural sequence needs further investigation. Then we can understand the transformation to the early historic period. It should be studied through habitation sites and not burial sites, he said, adding it was unfortunate he did not have more time to conduct a further study at the site.
