yo1t4i22, 6:52 PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind TAMIL NADU A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur B. Aravind Kumar AUGUST 14, 2022 00:52 IST UPDATED: AUGUST 17, 2022 17:08 IST Resumed after nearly one-and-a-half decades, the excavations in the southern wedge of Tamil Nadu have yielded a wealth of materials, including gold, metals and human remains, that will help archaeologists reconstruct the framework of a civilisation that, by all accounts so far, was glorious and fairly advanced with bustling commerce, trade, general prosperity and transcontinental arrivals The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has now literally struck gold at Adichanallur, the largest well-preserved urn burial site in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. Strongly criticised by Tamil people, particularly politicians, for “abandoning” excavation at Keeladi, near Madurai, where a Sangam Age urban settlement had been discovered, the ASI recently began its excavations again at Adichanallur. Acouple of years after the controversy, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in 2020, announced in the Budget that Adichanallur would be one of the five iconic sites hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-trom-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0 amt0114/22, 6:62PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-trom-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0 aint10114122, 6:52 PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-from-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind Apart from unearthing burial urns, characteristic of this Iron Age cemetery, the ASI team led by Arun Raj, Superintending Archaeologist, Tiruchi Circle, founda perfect trench where a skull ofa member ofa clan that lived about 3,000 years ago was buried. With that, the team has also found a gold diadem, bronze artefacts, headgear, spear, arrowheads, dog toy and paddy, all buried alongside the remains. In the adjacent trench, a small gold ring, assumed to be that of a child, was found at a depth of 30 cm itself, It was in 1903-04 that British archaeologist Alexander Rea unearthed a treasure of over 9,000 objects here. As the terrain had changed over the hundred years since, in the ASI excavations during 2004 and 2005, the archaeologists found a lot of iron objects, a few copper objects but no bronze or gold, as they were more focused on habitations. This time around, the ASI team studied Rea’s report carefully and found clues and then harnessed technology to zero in on the trenches to be dug at three different sites when the excavation began in October 2021. hitps:wwthehinducominewsinationaltami-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-from-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0PM civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hindu THESt#® HINDU10014122, 6:52 PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hindu THESt#® HINDU a A figurine of Mother Goddess unearthed over a hundred years ago at the Adichanallur site and kept at the Egmore museum in Chennai. Photo: Special Arrangement Using Geological Survey of India (GSI) data to overlay the maps, the team went for the dig in this particular trench about a month ago. The ‘C’ site, as they call it, has about seven possible burials of the heads of important persons of the clans that existed between 500 to 1,000 BCE. It was in the first trench that they found objects in bronze and gold similar to what Alexander Rea discovered at the turn of the 20 Century. It was the gold diadem they were after. Rea had found 14 gold diadems. Now, they had found one, and possibly more were likely to be unearthed, when excavations continue next year. Inland gold Gold was an inland source from the region located north of the present northern borders of Tamil Nadu. Several gold workings are reported from the neighbourhood of the Hutti gold mines, the present Raichur district of Karnataka. Some of them have been dated to about 3,000 years ago, says Ravi Korisettar, Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. “The granulite [charnockite] terrain in Tamil Nadu is also reported to yield gold, but how long ago this gold was exploited is not known. However, from 1,000 BCE onwards since the beginning of the megalithic or Iron Age in south India, gold wasa traded commodity, Not surprising therefore that it has been found in Adichanallur,’ he says. “This is the best example of how reinvestigations at classic site, which were discovered more than a hundred years, would help obtain better insights, Thanks to AST authorities at New Delhi for permitting excavation using modern techniques” Ravi Korisettar Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru “Sanganakallu, a Neolithic and Megalithic site near Ballari in Karnataka, has yielded gold foils but in small quantities and not from a burial context like at Adichanallur,” he adds. “It is one of the best sites excavated after a century. All the artefacts unearthed are excellent” says an academician-cum-archaeologist at Adichanallur, on condition of hitps:[Link]/newsinationaltami-nadu/a-golden-ciiisation-beckons-from-underground-at-acichanallriaricleBS765364.0ce ettyo1t4i22, 6:52 PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU “He expects The AST lo Unearth conleiporaly habilalion sites as lhe excavallon progresses further. Although gold has been found repeatedly during excavations in the country, the earliest in Tamil Nadu was in Adichanallur, he says. ‘A museum will soon be set up to display rare artefacts, including the gold diadem. Photo: Special Arrangement “The diadem, a bejewelled crown or headband, is peculiar to Adichanallur,” he notes further. Korkai connection Not far from the Adichanallur site, which sits at the top of a mound along Tirunelveli- Tiruchendur Road, lies Korkai, an ancient port city of the Pandya kings. At present, the sea is rough due to the monsoon winds. When the sea calms by September, the State Archaeology Department plans to look for clues connected to an ancient civilisation at this siteas well. “Around any port city, there will be satellite villages feeding it. Only then can an urban habitat survive. Adichanallur could have been one. The entire Thamirabarani river basin has to be surveyed to trace back the civilization,” says the retired academician. T. Satymurthy led the excavation here in 2004-05 as Superintendent Archaeologist, Chennai Circle. He says, “From what it looks like now, we can’t imagine the Adichanallur of 3,000 years ago. Then the Thamirabarani could have been 2 km wide, and the ships could hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-trom-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0 7myo1t4i22, 6:52 PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU Sathyabhama Badhreenath, the report has some interesting findings about the people of Adichanallur. ‘Along the Thamirabarani, the Archaeological Survey of India has undertaken an extensive excavation at three different sites. | Photo Credit: A, Shaikmohideen Maritime trade On the whole, the Iron Age cemetery of Adichanallur has yielded wonderful information on many branches of bioarchaeology, biological anthropology and social archaeology, the report states. hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-trom-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0 att0114/22, 6:62PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU Age period at the sub-coastal, prehistoric harbour town at Adichanallur. “The anthropological study of skeletons revealed some interesting aspects of Adichanallur people - they were of medium height, and of strong build. The Aabitation site indicated a settled lifé, and that rice and green gram was cultivated” ASI Report Associated materials along with the burials have yielded vital clues for maritime trade activities at the southern rim of the Indian Ocean. Recoveries of many Tamil cultural artefacts in Vietnam, Cambodia and other South East and Far East Asian countries right from the Iron Age till early 17 Century prove that there were aggressive free sea trade activities that flourished fora long time. According to the report, the results on pathological skeletal and dental abnormalities were amazing as such abnormalities had never been reported from anywhere else so far. Information on epigenetic variants, genetical pathology and osteogenesis may contribute significant clues in the field of evolutionary genetics and the various factors of stress and strain that operate upon the sea voyagers and settlers of Iron Age India, the report states. The recovered skeletal biological data, however, was insufficient to draw a genuine conclusion on the structure of the ancient community. Therefore, physical anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists and prehistorians should systematically excavate (study) this area, the report concludes. hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-trom-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0 ont0114/22, 6:62PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU The skeletal remains inside one of the burial urns at the protected site, one of the largest and well-preserved in Tamil Nadu. | Photo Credit: A. Shaikmohideen THE HINDU Our code of editorial values hitps:[Link]-nadula-golden-cilisation-beckons-trom-underground-at-aeichanallurlaricle85765364,0c0 somyo1t4i22, 6:52 PM ‘A golden civilisation beckons from underground at Adichanallur- The Hind THESt#® HINDU 1. 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