In less than a month, a second terracotta ring well has been found at Agaram, six km away from the main Keeladi site, where excavations by Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology are in full swing.
With a diameter of 84 cm, the five-cm thick rim of the ring well was unearthed on Thursday evening. It was found at a depth of 125 cm below the lime deposit in the western part of quadrant C2/1.
In July, the first ring well was found in an adjacent quadrant, at a depth of 146 cm and at a distance of eight metres from the present one. Both the ring wells are similar to the ones excavated at Keeladi and belong to the early historical phase of Sangam era, according to Director of Excavations R. Sivanandam.
The excavation at Agaram is being carried out over two acres. The first season of activity started here as part of the sixth phase of Keeladi excavation in March 2020. The second season began in February this year with the seventh phase at Keeladi .
Among the various items excavated at Agaram so far include a hand-modelled terracotta animal figurine which was found last month, besides terracotta spindles, beads, semi-precious stones and microlithic tools, according to Archaeology Officer M. Ramesh.
