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2600 Years Old Civilization with Writing Skills
Keezhadi is one of the most revered archaeological sites in India, owing to its habitation, which seems to co-exist with the period of the Harappan civilisation; a theory which had no basis even six years ago.
In a major turning point in the cultural historiography of the ancient Sangam Age, the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD) has stated that the cultural deposits unearthed during excavations could be safely dated to a period between 6th century BCE and 1st century CE.
This is the first time the date has been officially announced by the TNAD.
The report titled, ‘Keeladi-An Urban Settlement of Sangam Age on the Banks of River Vaigai’, was published by the TNAD.
One of the six samples collected at the depth of 353 cm and sent for carbon dating test in the U.S. “goes back to 580 BCE”.
The results from the fourth excavations suggest that the “second urbanisation [the first being Indus] of Vaigai plains happened in Tamil Nadu around 6th century BCE as it happened in Gangetic plains.”
Six carbon samples collected from the fourth season (2018) of excavations at Keeladi were sent to Beta Analytic Lab, Miami, Florida, U.S., for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating.

Beginning of the Excavation
In 2013-2014, the Archaeological Survey of India had set out to explore the regions along the banks of river Vaigai in Tamil Nadu. Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts all were part of the 293 sites set up to unearth artefacts and ruins to discover the culture that might have existed ages ago.
A Bengaluru-based excavation branch headed by Mr. K. Amarnath Ramakrishna from ASI took up the site at Keezhadi village, 12 km south-east of Madurai, in the Sivaganga district.
Three months into their excavation, the site began yielding interesting finds like beads made of glass, terracotta and even pearls. Other discoveries included figurines, roof tiles and also pottery.
Pallichandai Thidal
One particular excavation area named – Pallichandai Thidal – was brimming with potential finds. An earthen pot with leaf decorations was also unearthed at the excavation site, adding to a repository of evidence that points to the existence of an urban habitation closer to the erstwhile capital of the Pandya kingdom.
Combine that with other findings like pottery with a Tamil-Brahmi script, the initial assumption of the town belonging to the Pandyas was materialising.
Weapons and Coins
A fossilised piece of bone was also found which could have been used as an arrowhead, indicating the use of weapons. Not only that, square copper coins of Pandyan Peruvazhudhi with horse and turtle motifs were also found at the surface level, pointing towards the fact that the society used currency in its day-to-day life.
Trade
Beads of agate, Carnelian and quartz indicate that they had trade link with countries like Rome. Experts say that the town could have also played a role in the Roman trade of the day.
Water Storage
Two similar pots of different shapes have emerged in other pits of the excavation site. The huge red pot, which is among a variety of earthenware discovered in the area, was found embedded alongside a water storage facility.
The facility further pointed to another significant fact: the advancement of the society and the habitation during that time.
Carbon Dating
The excavation continued to its second phase from 2015-2016 with about 1,800 antiquities unearthed. It was high time to call for carbon dating of these antiquities, where selected pieces would be sent to Beta Analytic Inc., Florida, USA, for the procedure.
Brahmi-inscribed pots, pastime games like dice, graffiti of the sun and the moon, all hinted towards a sophisticated civilisation on the banks of river Vaigai. All these led to the conclusion that the Sangam period was way advanced than it was earlier thought to be.
The Keezhadi excavation continues well into the fourth season of excavation, with yields like small objects made of gold, terracotta figurines, a terracotta mould resembling a human face, two ring wells, ornamental objects made of ivory, and a large number of beads of different kinds.
Animal Usage
After analysing the AMS dates, archaeologist Professor K. Rajan felt that Keeladi presented strong evidence for some of the hypotheses. Skeletal fragments were sent to Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute in Pune, and it identified them of species such as cow/ox , buffalo, sheep , goat , nilgai , blackbuck , wild boar and peacock.
Mr. Udhayachandran from TNAD has said that these finding suggests that the society in Keeladi had used animals predominantly for agricultural purposes.

Pottery
Pottery specimens from Keeladi sent to the Earth Science Department of Pisa University, Italy, through Vellore Institute of Technology for mineral analysis, confirmed that water containers and cooking vessels were shaped out of locally available raw materials.