In 2013-14, the archaeological Survey of India carried out explorations in 293 sites along the Vaigai river valley in Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts. Keezhadi in Sivaganga district was chosen for excavations and artefacts unearthed by the ASI in the second phase of its excavation at Pallichanthai Thidal of Keezhadi pointed to an ancient civilisation that thrived on the banks of the Vaigai.
Carbon dating of charcoal found at the Keezhadi site in February 2017 established that the settlement there belonged to 200 BC. The excavations thus proved that urban civilisation had existed in Tamil Nadu since the Sangam age.
The Union Ministry of State for Culture announced that the third phase of excavation will begin in May 2017. The excavation would go on for three more years and ₹40 lakh had been sanctioned. Meanwhile, the transfer of K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, Superintending Archaeologist, Excavations Branch (Bangalore), ASI, who has been overseeing the excavation work in Keezhadi kicked up a storm recently. The transfer came at a crucial juncture when the third phase of the excavation in Keezhadi was all set to begin with funding also being aproved.
The delay in approval, which ought to have happened in October last year, and the alleged reluctance of the Central government in continuing the excavation kicked up a controversy and evoked widespread condemnation by various political parties, writers and film personalities in Tamil Nadu.
Here we give you a peek into what this excavation means for Tamil Nadu and the details of what the excavation has yielded till now.
