Jewellery unearthed near Ramakkalmedu in Idukki
As part of the second phase of excavation of the Megalithic sites in the district, more earthen burial urns (nannagadis) have been unearthed near Ramakkalmedu.
The excavation is being done as part of the “Discovering Idukki” project of the district panchayat to preserve the historical remains in a heritage museum to be opened at Painavu.
A major discovery at the excavation done on Saturday by a team led by T. Rajesh, historian, was the finding of copper beads near the main urn at a cell joined by stone slabs with a capstone.
“This was the first time copper beads were found in a Megalithic site. The general perception was that the Copper Age (Chalcolithic Age) was just after the Iron Age. That there was no such discovery from a Megalithic site so far has highlighted the importance of further studies on different Megalithic sites in the district,” Mr. Rajesh said.
He said the beads excavated were fine jewellery. Archaeologists and historians had a common perception that the latter period of the Neolithic Age was immediately followed by the early Iron Age in South India. The new discovery contradicted that perception, and the beads gave a clear idea that copper was made during the period.
He said the jewellery showed the presence of a civilised society in the Megalithic period. It proved the artistic skill of a society which was cut off from the mainstream and a rhythm of life completely different from that of other societies of that period. The interaction with the world outside was evident from the new discovery. The beads were of the same size and shape. The holes inside the beads were fine-tuned to make jewellery in a period when life was more on a survival level when engagements in artistic works were impossible.
It showed that the transition of culture from the Neolithic to the Iron Age was a gradual one. The Neolithic-cum-Chalcolithic cultures in the Deccan plateau had further extended to the south throughout the second millennium BC, Mr. Rajesh said.
He said the same lifestyle could be seen here. The megalithic pottery could be broadly divided into two groups — unpolished, large, receptacles of funerary deposits, the burial urns, and well-fired highly polished small pottery. The old black-finished pottery was wheel-turned. The clay was finally ‘litigated,' making it a smooth and plastic paste, though it was not uniform in texture. The polish or glaze exhibited a capacity to withstand a fairly high temperature and a black colouring clay was applied, acting as a flux at high temperatures.
During the preceding Neolithic-Chalcolithic times, the knowledge of metals was almost non-existent in South India. In all probability, the copper beads were imports from the central Indian Chalcolithic regions. The copper beads pointed to a culture link with the Harappan civilisation.
Along with the beads around the main urn, there were nine small pottery pieces of various sizes. There were artistic skills in making pottery as evident from the decorative work on the main urn. The size and shape of the pottery showed the skill and the technological advancement in the Megalithic period. The pottery was thin and black. It was well finished and with a glossy surface. It was made using potter's wheel. The row clay used for making the pottery was found inside the cellar. The gap between the stone slabs used for making the cellar was filled with the same clay used for making pottery. A bunch of clay was left on the southern corner of the cellar near the main burial urn. The presence of clay in the raw form proved that the pottery was made there. The site which was on the top of a small hill was surrounded by low plains with marshy soil. The site was near an ancient trade route to low-lying areas of the present Tamil Nadu.
The excavations done as part of the project in other places showed differences in the living style of a society in this part of the district. There was no iron remains found on the site, but at Parathodu, around 55 km from here, iron remains, including two swords, were unearthed earlier.
District panchayat president Alex Kozhimala, who is keen on opening the heritage museum, said that it was a major finding and further studies would be conducted with the help of the archaeologist. He said the heritage museum would be opened as early as possible.
Mr. Rajesh was assisted by Lijo Joseph, Jithuraj, Ajith Sreedaran, Jayesh Balakrishnan and Thomas M.J.
Comments:
This is a very confused report. Surely 'megalithic' is incorrect, and the word should be
'Mesolithic', I.e., middle stone age, which preceded the Neolithic, or new stone age. The
so-called 'copper age', more normally Bronze Age, did not come AFTER but BEFORE the
Iron Age, while the Chalcolithic is an intermediate phase when both Stone and Bronze
were used for domestic and martial implements. A Megalith, from the Greek for 'big stone',
refers to any large standing stone construction from any time in the prehistoric era, more
specifically used for such places as Stonehenge. There is NO such thing as a 'megalithic
age'. Can this story be corrected, please? It's potentially v. Interesting.
I agree with Stan on some of the misleading concepts that would confuse
a lay reader.the correspondent could have done well to get the content
vetted by an expert in the area.
this article is conceptual blunder. please correct it properly, like spelling. it appears that mr. rajesh is very amateur in archaeology and destroying heritage. if you are opening museum please take help from some expert ibn archaeology. please evaluate and modified it in the light of smith suggestions
This report is conceptually very confounding. The excavator himself
seems to be intermixing various concepts. There is a problem of
referring 'copper age' as a succeeding stage to Iron age in South
India. The finding of these copper beads and then linking them to
Harappan civilization will make this megalith as old as 2000-1800 BC.
These kinds of claims cannot be made without proper dating of the
megalith and its pottery. Virtually, there are no chalcolithic sites
in South India. And after finding a few beads which excavator himself
is saying that in all probability these were imported. No copper
object was produced in this region then how does this show that from
neolithic to Iron age it was a gradual transition. Moreover, smith
correctly said there is no 'megalithic age'. Even now the megaliths
are erected in many parts of India. One cannot easily assume that
megaliths mean 1000-1200 BC. There are megaliths in vidarbha where
satavahana coins were found.
All the comments are remarkable, at the same time are against the fact. I know Mr. rajesh personally. He is very keen and unbiased researcher. He works with a good academic support, especially archaeologists. The mistakes are accidental,due to confusion in reporting. However your valuable comments will make him more careful.
The beads need not have originated here as they may very well have been imported and were perhaps a means of currency of sorts the way us modern tourist collect coins from out own travels. For example I have old lira and new euros in a jar in Charleston, South Carolina that sit next to florints and currency from Hong Kong when it was still under British administration in the early 90s.
hi,i am velmurugan from chennai. i am curious to know whether any engravings found at the site.