Museum to come up on 13 acres near Sivanthipatti hillock

A world-class museum to showcase the artefacts that are being excavated at Aditchanallur, Korkai and Sivakalai, ancient civilisation sites along the Tamirabharani watercourse in Thoothukudi district, will come up near Sivanthipatti hillock on Palayamkottai outskirts on Madurai-Kanniyakumari National Highway.

The museum, which will be established on 13 acres of land at a cost of ₹15 crore, will exhibit 2,617 artefacts, including burial urns, bangles, beads, terracotta, copper and iron tools, coins, polished blackware and porcelain pieces, collected at the excavation sites.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting the site, along with Speaker M. Appavu, Collector V. Vishnu and Corporation Commissioner B. Vishnu Chandran on Thursday evening, Minister for Industries, Tamil Culture and Archaeology Thangam Thennarasu said the ‘Porunai Museum’, which was sanctioned by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during the last Assembly session, would come up on 13 acres of land near the national highway and used by a large number of tourists every day.

Besides having attractive landscaping, caves, caveman, ancient architecture and so on, the museum campus would house medicinal plants, a handicrafts showroom and an open-air theatre.

“A viewpoint with telescope will be established atop the adjacent hillock so that visitors can take a look at Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai from there,” Mr. Thangam Thennarasu said, adding that work on construction of the museum would begin once land acquisition and detailed project report were completed.

Tirunelveli MP S. Gnanathiraviam and MLAs M. Abdul Wahab and Ruby R. Manoharan were present.

Museum to come up on 13 acres near Sivanthipatti hillock

Artefacts collected at Aditchanallur, Korkai and Sivakalai will be exhibited