Keeladi a Civilization linking Indus Valley & Sangam era.

A part of the Ganges outpouring into Vaigai hides more than just the tales. The Keeladi Valley civilization can be the answer to all the questions that we are looking for.

Keeladi Excavation Center; Image source: Image source: Department of Architecture Tamil Nadu

Surrounded by tales of vandalizing sins the river Vaigai is a direct outpour of the Ganges. The valleys of Vaigai do bury some Atlantis of civilization in its banks. Keeladi is a little Townley in the Sivagangai district, located on the banks of Vaigai Valley, Tamil Nadu. Keeladi is now well known for unwrapping the stories of civilization linking the Indus Valley civilization and pushing the Sangam era backwards. The state of Tamil Nadu's Archaeological Department started the excavation during the years 2017-2022. So far eight rounds of excavation have taken place. The excavations explain the history, lifestyle, and scripts, and break the belief of no second urbanization in Tamil Nadu. The Sangam era is one of the prehistoric periods in Tamil Nadu.  The literal name of Sangam came from Tamil poets who bloomed in the southern part of India. The 3rd century BC to the 3rd century CE is regarded as the Sangam era. The analysis of carbon dating of samples collected at the depth of 353 cm significantly proved the samples dated back to 580 BC. The artifacts obtained from the second excavation are connected to the sixth and first century BC. These unlatched findings are 300 years earlier than the quoted Sangam era. The finding of Keeladi has pushed the Sangam era backwards to the 16th century.

Vaigai River, Madurai; Image Source: Wikimedia

The main occupation of the people in Keeladi is farming and rearing. With a total of 70 animal samples recovered 53% pointed to cattle while the rests are wild boars and antelope.  The missing puzzles of the Iron Age   (12th  to sixth century BC) to the Early Historic Period (sixth to fourth century BC) could be bridged with evidence from Keeladi. The findings of brick materials are mostly made of silica, aluminium, lime, magnesium and iron. A structure similar to that of the Sangam age expressed the high standard of living by the early Keeladi people. If the evidence from Keeladi could fit the puzzles then the cultural development from the iron age to the historic period would be a limelight situation. With not much so to say in terms of discoveries in the third excavation, the following excavations are expected to be awe-inspiring and induce jealousy. Around 150 potsherds are engraved with Tamil-Brahmi letters, proving the long-lasting and ancient use of the language. Apart from Tamil-Brahmi alphabets graffiti marks were widely found in Keeladi. Graffiti marks, which are the earliest of Indus scripts dating 4,500 years back, were also widely found in Kkeeladi, in addition to Tamil-Brahmi alphabets The graffiti marks breathed between the disappearance of Indus scripts and the birth of Tamil-Brahmi. The presence of Graffiti marks in Keeladi potsherds links them to the Indus Valley civilization, which is separated by 1000 years from the Tamil-Brahmi Era.

Keeladi Excavation Site; Image source: Department of Architecture Tamil Nadu

Significantly uniform making of pottery was seen among the potters of Keeladi. The classic Red and black earthware are made from Hematite (red color) and charcoal (black color). One feature that stood out among the earthware is the inscription on the heads. The Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions can be made only when the pot is in the leather phase or after the pot is completely dry. During the leather conditions, it was the potter who could make the inscriptions. The artifacts are first baked and were later engraved by the buyers.  The 16 century BC had high levels of literacy rate as the inscriptions are done by people and not by the potters.

Key findings: A 340-meter-long continuous brick construction, graffiti symbols, Tamil-Brahmi engravings, Potsherds linking Indus Valley civilization, Gold ornaments, shell bangles, ivory combs, semi-precious gems including Agat**, and carnelian beads, commercial in, and out tradings, ear ornaments, copper articles, and ivory bangles represent the lux lifestyle, the high literacy rate among people and an urbanized civilization.**