Explained | The significance of the findings in Keeladi
2 years, 1 month ago

Explained | The significance of the findings in Keeladi

The Hindu  

The story so far: Keeladi is a tiny hamlet in the Sivaganga district in south Tamil Nadu. The excavations here from 2015 prove that an urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age on the banks of the Vaigai river. The Sangam age is a period of history in ancient Tamil Nadu which was believed to be from the third century BCE to the third century CE. The findings in the TNSDA report placed Keeladi artefacts about 300 years earlier than the previously believed third century BCE. A recent ASI report by K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, the Superintendent Archaeologist who discovered Keeladi in 2015, has pushed the Sangam age to 800 BCE based on these archaeological findings.

Tamil Nadu Age Tamil Madurai Nadu Century Bce Sangam Indus Valley Civilisation Vaigai Keeladi Tnsda Sixth Century Bce Sangam Age  century  age  explained  tamil  bce  sangam  tnsda  unearthed  findings  nadu  civilisation  keeladi  significance

History of this topic

Editor’s Note | Tamil Nadu’s New Archaeological Finds Could Rewrite India’s Iron Age Timeline
1 month ago

Editor’s Note | Tamil Nadu’s New Archaeological Finds Could Rewrite India’s Iron Age Timeline

The Hindu  

Published : Feb 26, 2025 11:44 IST - 3 MINS READ Over the past two decades, the southern tip of the subcontinent has seen some spectacular archaeological breakthroughs. From 2004 on, excavations by the Kerala State Archaeology Department along the coast of central Kerala, in small towns like Pattanam, Paravoor, and Kodungallur—collectively known as the Muziris project—established a flourishing trade …

DC Edit | Debate over Tamil Nadu’s history is now cast in iron
2 months ago

DC Edit | Debate over Tamil Nadu’s history is now cast in iron

Deccan Chronicle  

But adamant Tamil historians insisted that there indeed was a thriving civilisation on the banks of the River Vaigai, which could not be pooh poohed after the excavations at Keeladi near Madurai threw up evidence of an urban settlement in the plains of River Vaigai. Such books were even used to silence the naysayers refusing to agree that Tamil civilisation …

Both Harappan cities and Keeladi had burial sites outside the habitation area: Amarnath Ramakrishna
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Both Harappan cities and Keeladi had burial sites outside the habitation area: Amarnath Ramakrishna

The Hindu  

“The people of Indus Valley Civilisation never disappeared. Mr. Ramakrishna spoke here on the topic ‘Indus Valley Civilisation and its impact towards the continuous legacy of the Dravidian culture viewed from Keeladi excavation’ at the international conference commemorating the centenary of the discovery of Indus Valley Civilisation. He said both Harappan cities and Keeladi had burial sites outside of the …

Keeladi museum — A bridge to a world of yore
2 years ago

Keeladi museum — A bridge to a world of yore

The Hindu  

Keeladi on the banks of the Vaigai, which yielded unique artefacts establishing a stronger link to the rich ancient roots of the Tamils, is set to have a museum. It would display over 15,000 artefacts unearthed between the fourth and eighth seasons of the excavations in the Keeladi clusters, comprising Konthagai, Agaram and Manalur villages, said R. Sivanantham, Commissioner, Department …

Artefacts with Tamil-Brahmi script unearthed at Keeladi to find a special place in museum
2 years, 1 month ago

Artefacts with Tamil-Brahmi script unearthed at Keeladi to find a special place in museum

The Hindu  

The upcoming museum at Keeladi would house various artefacts with Tamil-Brahmi scripts and graffiti engraved on them similar to that of Indus Valley script. They include the many path-breaking findings such as potsherds inscribed with graffiti – which is a preliminary writing expression of the Iron Age people, undeciphered signs similar to that of the Indus Valley script as well …

ASI’s Keeladi report pushes Sangam age further back to 800 BCE
2 years, 1 month ago

ASI’s Keeladi report pushes Sangam age further back to 800 BCE

The Hindu  

Keeladi continues to redefine Tamil history. In the latest development, the Sangam age has been pushed to 800 BCE based on the archaeological findings from the first two phases of excavation carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India in this sleepy hamlet along the Vaigai river, about 13 km from Madurai. Based on the results of stratigraphy of the …

What Did the Indus Valley Civilisation Have in Common with Tamils?
4 years ago

What Did the Indus Valley Civilisation Have in Common with Tamils?

News 18  

The Indus Valley civilisation was a Bronze age civilisation that existed in north-west India and eastern Pakistan between 5,000 BCE and 1,500 BCE. Excavations and made from sites in Tamil Nadu over the past two years studies of the Indus Valley script and the Tamil-Brahmi script – the precursor of contemporary Tamil – suggest that there may have there might …

Keeladi: Unearthing the 'Vaigai Valley' Civilisation of Sangam era Tamil Nadu
5 years, 4 months ago

Keeladi: Unearthing the 'Vaigai Valley' Civilisation of Sangam era Tamil Nadu

The Hindu  

In the last week of September 2019, Keerthi Jeyaraj, Director of EduRight Foundation, flew from Texas, the U.S., to Pallichandai Thidal, a nondescript mound at the far end of Keeladi, a tiny hamlet located 12 km southeast of the historic city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The first round of excavation, undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India, unearthed antiquities …

Excavations in Keeladi yields its secrets
5 years, 5 months ago

Excavations in Keeladi yields its secrets

The Hindu  

Archaeologists have been busy digging out the treasures buried in Keeladi, a village in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu, and historians and anthropologists are now interpreting the rich finds from the Sangam era. As the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department’s experts dug around the site based on a geomagnetism survey, they stumbled upon a closed bridge channel enclosed on four sides …

Excavations at Keeladi open a new window into old times
5 years, 5 months ago

Excavations at Keeladi open a new window into old times

The Hindu  

The first major urban settlement to be unearthed in India was Rajgir, or “Rajagriha”, in Bihar’s Nalanda district and it was assigned to the 6th century BCE. The Alagankulam excavations were carried out for seven seasons and evidence of four distinct cultures was unearthed: 4th century BCE to 1st century CE, where black and red ware were found; 1st century …

‘Site museum at Keeladi first priority’
5 years, 5 months ago

‘Site museum at Keeladi first priority’

The Hindu  

What do the Keeladi excavations signify? The department has taken up a major initiative in adopting various technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicle survey, magnetometer survey, and ground penetrating radar survey to identify the ideal spot for carrying out systematic archaeological explorations and excavations with the help of reputed institutions such as the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai; the …

Tamil Nadu: Findings at Keeladi Vaigai site trace back to 6th century BCE
5 years, 6 months ago

Tamil Nadu: Findings at Keeladi Vaigai site trace back to 6th century BCE

Op India  

The Tamil Nadu Archeology Department has stated that the ‘cultural deposits’ unearthed at the Keeladi excavation site at the banks of Vaigai in the Sivaganga district can be dated back to 6th century BCE, at least 3 century earlier than previously thought. K Pandiarajan, the minister for Tamil culture and archaeology released an official report on Thursday which stated that …

Keezhadi excavations: Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study
5 years, 6 months ago

Keezhadi excavations: Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study

The Hindu  

In a major turning point in the cultural historiography of the ancient Sangam Age, the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department has stated that the cultural deposits unearthed during excavations at Keeladi in Sivaganga district could be safely dated to a period between 6th century BCE and 1st century CE. The new findings in the report, released on Thursday by Minister for …

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