The villages of Keezhadi, Manalur, Kondhagai and Agaram should be declared a protected Sangam-era complex. A state-of-the-art museum should be constructed at Keezhadi and Madurai so that the articles found here could be displayed and preserved,” said Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan after visiting the excavation site on Saturday.
He inspected various findings of the fifth phase of the excavation undertaken by the State Archaeological Department, including a water chute, a brick wall and a post hole. The MP also held a discussion with the site officers about the miniatures of pottery, back and red potteries, Tamil Brahmi inscriptions and seals found in the fifth phase of the excavations.
“The findings are a testimony to the technological advancement and the rich art tradition of our ancestors. I appeal to the global Tamil diaspora to join hands in protecting Keezhadi’s antiquity and taking it to the world,” he said.
“Only through political awareness can Keezhadi’s pride be taken to the international audience. After the third phase of excavations, the Archaeological Survey of India team gave a report to the Central government stating that nothing more can be found in Keezhadi and that there was no continuation of construction, based on which the Centre closed the Keezhadi excavation,” he said. Appreciating the Tamil Nadu government for reopening the site for excavation, he said the recent findings had proved the ASI report wrong.
The State government should also immediately reveal the carbon dating results of the various artefacts found here and take steps to bring the 30,000 Tamil inscriptions kept in the Mysuru museum to Tamil Nadu. The government should also continue excavations at Porunthal, Adichanallur and Kosasthalaiyar, apart from Keezhadi, as these are all important Sangam-era sites, he said. “The Central government has called for international tenders to construct a museum at Vadnagar, Gujarat, an ASI excavation site. Similarly, it should construct museums in Keezhadi and Madurai. I will raise it in Parliament,” he added.
The archaeological officer at the site said the fifth phase of excavations will end by September and the sixth phase will commence in January. “This was also the first time we had used geo magnetic mapping, thermal scanning and ground penetrating radars to find potential excavation sites. We had roped in experts from the Indian Institute of Geo Magnetism. Likewise, the sixth phase will also see the usage [of] novel scientific methods,” the official said.
