Keezhadi ( ta, கீழடி, kīḻaṭi) is a village near the village of Silaiman, on the border between Madurai and Sivagangai districts, in Tamil Nadu, India. The

Keezhadi excavation site Keezhadi (also as Keeladi) excavation site is a Sangam age settlement that is being excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India and the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology. This site is located 12 km southeast of Madurai in T ...

is located in this area: excavations carried out by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

(ASI) and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD) have revealed a Sangam era settlement dated to the 6th century BCE by radiocarbon dating. Claims that the results show that there was writing at that time have been challenged. It is not clear whether the potsherds containing inscriptions were found in the same archaeological layer as the 6th century samples, and University of Calcutta archaeologist Bishnupriya Basak said that "This unfortunately is not clear from the report and is very crucial", adding that the issues of "layer, period and absolute dates" needed clarity. Dravidian University archaeologist E. Harsha Vardhan said that a single report was not enough to "state scientifically that the

Tamil-Brahmi Tamil-Brahmi, also known as Tamizhi or Damili, was a variant of the Brahmi script in southern India. It was used to write inscriptions in the early form of Old Tamil.Richard Salomon (1998) ''Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscription ...

script belongs to the sixth century BC".

Excavations

An archaeological survey team under Archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna was first conducted in 2013 in the vicinity of the

Vaigai The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the ...

river from Theni district to Ramanathapuram district where the river meets the sea. During the study, 293 sites, including Keezhadi, were identified to have archaeological residues. The first three phases of excavation at Keezhadi were conducted by the

, and they dropped it from doing further research. A public interest litigation was filed and following that the court ordered the regional depart to carry forward, following which the fourth and fifth phases were conducted by the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department.

Carbon nanomaterials in Keeladi pottery

A team of researchers identified pottery shards at Keeladi that contain carbon nanomaterials, including single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

Notes and references

6. The New Indian Express (2 Sept 2020) https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/sep/02/findings-hint-keezhadi-was-continuously-inhabited-since-sixth-century-bce-2191353.html{{Madurai district Villages in Madurai district Tamil history Ancient Tamil Nadu Prehistoric India Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu Tamilakam

Excavations

Carbon nanomaterials in Keeladi pottery

See also

Notes and references