Keeladi will be declared a protected site after the proposed excavations in a cluster of villages around it are completed, said Minister for Archaeology K. Pandiarajan.
The State had not asked for such a declaration so far, as doing so would prevent further excavations, he said.
“We have planned a deeper excavation from January, including in a cluster of villages around Keeladi. In the sixth round, we have planned excavations for an entire year. After this is completed, we will announce parts of it as protected site. If we announce now, we will be unable to carry out excavations. Besides, the State government does not require the Central government’s nod to declare it a protected site,” the Minister said in response to a question, following the inauguration of a two-day photo exhibition on artefacts unearthed in Keeladi.
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Such exhibitions are proposed to be organised at all educational institutions, the Minister said, adding that there was a proposal to make a visit to the nearby museum for all schoolchildren, mandatory.
Work on the museum near the site will be completed by January, as the plot and design had been decided.
“The only delay we anticipate is in curation. We believe Keeladi findings could emerge as a knowledge fount of Tamil culture,” Mr. Pandiarajan said.
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All vacancies in the Department would soon be filled, as the State government had given them funds, he said.
The State government had also signed an agreement with Fujian province in China to develop exchange programmes for students of the school of sculpture in Mamallapuram and elsewhere, he added.