ASI nod for excavations at Keeladi, seven other sites in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has given permission to the state archaeology department to excavate Keeladi, for the 11th season, and seven other sites in Tamil Nadu for a period of one year. With this, 13 sites will be excavated in the state, the highest in a single year in the past six decades.Sources in the state archaeology department said work will begin soon as Tamil Nadu has an excavation window only until Sept, after which the monsoon sets in. "We are trying to find out more about ancient iron technology and maritime trade through this year's excavations," said a source from the archaeology department.The other seven excavation proposals approved by ASI are the Chola-era port city of Nagapattinam; a Sangam-era glass bead-making centre at Manikollai in Cuddalore district; sites that yielded Roman gold coins at Vellalur in Coimbatore and Karivalamvanthanallur in Tenkasi; the Iron Age burial site at Adichanur near Tirukoyilur; another Iron Age site in Thelunganur near Salem; and a conch shell ornaments-making unit at Pattinamarudur in Tuticorin.Though the debate is still on about the antiquity of Keeladi, as ASI is yet to publish archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna's excavation report, the state archaeology department radiocarbon-dated a sample from Keeladi to 580 BCE. Recent scientific studies also found traces of indigo, evidence of the functioning of an ancient dyeing unit at Keeladi. The faces of two men who lived there about 2,500 years ago were also reconstructed with the help of a UK lab.Earlier, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin had flagged the delay in ASI granting permission for excavations, saying the proposals were pending for more than six months.This year, ASI is also excavating two Iron Age sites, Kamanur near Thandikudi in Kodaikanal and Kumarikkalpalayam in Tirupur district.Three academic institutions, including University of Madras and Tamil University, have got permission to excavate Neolithic sites at Chettimedu Pathur near Chengalpet and Molapalayam near Coimbatore. Researchers from IIT Bombay will excavate Machur near Kodaikanal, an Iron Age burial site.