Red ware pottery, microlithic tools and other remains of Kurumba lineage were discovered at Kurumbankottai in Villupuram district, where a team of students and scholars from the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Culture, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya University, Enathur, took up excavation recently.
According to S. Rama Krishna Pisipaty, dean and geo-archaeologist at the university, the excavation led to the discovery of two different natures of soil and levels at Kurumbankottai — indicating that the region might have been ruled by Kurumbas, the pre-Pallava chiefs.
The red soil mound belongs to a temple whereas greyish black soil with river sand in the low-lying area is under private ownership. The entire area is being utilised for cultivation under rainwater harvest.
The mound appeared in two different natures of occupation, one for residential purpose and other for storage of grains. Red ware pottery in different shapes, bricks and roof tiles were unearthed from the residential area. Large size granaries constructed with mud walls and temporary roof material to store grains was also found and charred rice was noticed in the area.
