The excavation at Keeladi, located in Tamil Nadu, unveiled proof of an early urbanized society in South India, which captivated the interest of the whole nation. The first stages of the initiative, started in 2014, were headed by archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna.

However, a significant political dispute between the Tamil Nadu government and the centre has unfolded by his repeated transfers and the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) reservations about his excavation report.

K Amarnath is now appointed as the Director of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquity (NMMA) in Greater Noida. He was employed as the Director of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquity in New Delhi prior to the transfer, which occurred six months after his last assignment. He had previously spent three months in the position of Director for Excavation and Exploration.

K Amarnath was ordered to modify his report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), however, he denied to comply, leading to a fierce war of words between the central and state governments.

How it all began: The Keeladi findings and its significance

Keeladi also known as Keezhadi is on the Vaigai river basin, situated in the Sivaganga district, approximately 12 kilometers southeast of Madurai. Excavations were started more than ten years ago at the Pallichanthai Tidal in Keeladi which was once a 100-acre coconut grove by Amarnath Ramakrishna, the ASI’s superintending archaeologist at the time. Keeladi stood out among the over 100 locations he had selected for excavation along the Vaigai River.

Over 7,500 ancient artefacts, such as wells, drainage systems and wall structures were discovered there, pointing to a thriving and advanced urban society. These materials were disclosed to be more than 2,160 years old, dating to the second century BCE (Before Common Era) which coincides with Tamil history’s Sangam period, according to carbon dating.

The ASI conducted the first three of the eight rounds of excavations. After the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) assumed responsibility for the project, the artefacts accumulated to over 18,000, which included pottery, inscribed potsherds, gold ornaments, copper articles, semi-precious stones, shell and ivory bangles, glass beads, spindle whorls, terracotta seals, and weaving tools.

The location produced more than 120 potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions. The discovery alongside thousand inscribed potsherds from other areas demonstrated the script’s continued existence in the region. Copper needles, clay seals, spinning whorls, yarn hanging stones, terracotta spheres, and earthen containers for liquids alluded to different stages of the weaving industry.

They also indicated that Keeladi was a strong, well-planned and sophisticated urban community with traces of businesses like beadmaking, dyeing and pottery. The artistic, culturally diverse and affluent lifestyle of the Keeladi people is reflected in gold decorations, copper objects, semi-precious stones, shell bangles, ivory bangles and ivory combs.

Beads made of carnelian and agate reflected importation through business networks. Furthermore, their recreational interests had been disclosed through the uncovering of terracotta and ivory dice, gamesmen and signs of hopscotch which also revealed the presence of an elite society. It was also unearthed that the area’s fertility and cow husbandry were key factors in its development, opening the door for the locals to engage in sea trading and produce an abundance of rice.

The results showcased a far older and more developed civilisation than previously believed, pushing the Sangam Age in Tamil Nadu back to about 800 BCE, as per reports. The Sangam Age, also known as the Tamil Sangam period, is a significant period in the history of South India. It was named for the Sangam, an assembly of Tamil poets and academics, saw a flourishing of literature and culture in southern India. It was generally accepted to have occurred between approximately 300 BCE and 300 CE (Common Era).

The Keeladi objects displayed certain symbols that were similar to those of the Indus Valley Civilization. However, there is cultural separation of roughly 1,000 years and scholars anticipated that more research would shed light on this relationship.

Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology asserted that Keeladi possessed all the hallmarks of an urban civilisation, including brick buildings, upscale goods and evidence of both domestic and international trade. It presented itself as a highly developed and hard-working civilisation and provided proof of Tamil Nadu’s urban life and settlements throughout the Early Historic Period. Additionally, Keeladi only strengthened Sangam Literature’s legitimacy.

Strong structures orientated in cardinal directions unveiled systematic urban planning and pot fragments with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions confirmed a literate culture. The sun and moon graffiti revealed the people’s astronomical awareness.

Keeladi was an urban town from the Sangam era and the cultural deposits discovered during the fourth phase of excavations could be easily dated to a time between the sixth and first centuries BCE, according to a 2019 report from the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology. One of the six samples sent to the United States for carbon testing was dated 580 BCE. It was taken at a depth of 353 centimetres.

Notably, according to the findings presented in the report, the Keeladi artefacts date back approximately 300 years earlier than the previously believed 3rd century BCE.

Ramakrishna’s discovery and subsequent transfer

Keeladi was found by Amarnath Ramakrishna, who supervised the first two seasons of excavations from 2014 to 2016 and handed over a 982-page report to ASI Director General V. Vidyavathi. The report’s twelve chapters provided an explanation of the excavation’s goals and historical context.

The 23 samples that were dated using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) at the Beta Analytical Lab in Florida of the United States were covered in a different chapter. It also incorporated research on floral and faunal remains from the site to arrive at the period, as well as discoveries from other universities, as per reports.

The first two phases of excavation at Keeladi yielded about 5,800 artefacts after which Ramakrishna was transferred to Assam. The action was reportedly viewed as a setback to the effort. The centre was accused by critics of purposefully sabotaging the excavations because it had committed to release funds and support for additional digging, but postponed both.

Meanwhile, the excavations had already progressed into their third phase under archaeologist PS Sriraman. Interestingly, Sriraman announced that there was no continuity in the brick constructions that had been found earlier, after 400 square meters of excavation. As a result, claims emerged from Tamil Nadu that the centre was actively ‘downplaying’ Keeladi’s prominence, aided by the usual political narratives of anti-North India sentiments that is seen in Tamil political discourse.

TN Govt took up excavation project after ASI stopped, found 13,000 more items

The ASI halted excavations at the site, arguing that the third phase produced no significant outcomes. However, the work was taken over by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology in 2017 and thousands of artefacts have since been unearthed. The ninth phase of the excavations was launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin in April 2023 and ended in September of the same year.

The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology has been able to uncover more than 13,000 items and acquire radiocarbon dates from 580 BCE to 200 CE. The excavations, entered their tenth phase by 2024-2025 and already produced hundreds of antiques.

Furthermore, a 30-foot-long new structure has recently been found at the third trench of the Keeladi excavation after ASI ruled out the possibility of any noteworthy discovery at the site. The bricks used in this new structure are identical in design and make to those used in other parts.

“The bricks used in this new structure are identical in design and make to those used in other parts of Keeladi, strengthening the authenticity of the findings. Earlier studies by Amarnath Ramakrishna’s team had already suggested the area might have housed industrial zones,” V Marappan, Professor of History at Presidency College, outlined while talking to The Federal.

He added, “These new findings raise questions about whether other sections of the site remain unexcavated underground.” The new structure, east-west orientated was discovered 90 centimetres below the surface on the western side. Its length is estimated to be approximately 10 meters. According to archaeologists, it might have been an industrial building or a workshop.

Madras High Court intervenes

The matter made its way to the judiciary in the interim. Judges from the Madras High Court intervened and travelled to the excavation site. They asked the ASI to carry on with the excavations and permit the involvement of the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology. The archaeology department of the state followed the instruction.

It had been working on it since the third phase of excavation, giving a more dramatic turn to the events. The court’s Madurai bench in 2019 pronounced that the excavations should not stop since significant advancements in Tamil civilisation had been uncovered while considering a number of petitions that sought an order to the state and the centre to preserve the archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu.

The public would learn more about Tamil civilisation through the archaeological excavations, thus Division Bench consisting of Justices D. Krishnakumar and R. Vijayakumar advised the relevant authorities to ensure that they were carried out without any obstacles.

The court even ordered the centre to send back Amarnath Ramakrishna to Tamil Nadu within 15 days to continue the excavations. Amarnath Ramakrishna, who had been moved back to the state, put forth his report on the first two stages of excavation in January 2023.

Last year, the High Court even sent a notice to the centre demanding the ASI to release the report that was provided following the first two stages of the excavations. The centre received notice regarding the petition filed by Madurai resident P. Prabhakar Pandian from the bench.

The state and the centre were also instructed to submit more counter-affidavits to several public interest litigation petitions concerning the excavations, in the same year. It ordered the authorities to present the rebuttal affidavits to the 2016 and 2017 petitions which had asked the relevant authorities for guidance on how to proceed with the excavations at Keeladi rather than shutting down the site.

One of the petitions asked the government to establish a “site museum” at Keeladi. Stalin opened a Rs 18.43 crore Keeladi museum in March 2023 on two acres.

The Madurai bench even granted the Archaeological Survey India’s request to relocate the artefacts from the excavation to its Dehradun lab for further scientific analysis, in 2016. It was instructed to notify the state’s archaeology commissioner prior to the move. The commissioner was told to record videos and take pictures of the items. The ASI was given directions to return the objects to Tamil Nadu and provide a report to the court.

Controversy erupts between the Centre, Tamil Nadu govt

The 982-page final report was given by Ramakrishna in January 2023, following preliminary and interim submissions in 2016 and 2017, respectively. It had been with the ASI for almost two and a half years and it wrote to Ramakrishna in May seeking a revision.

The Archaeological Survey of India raised concerns regarding the dating and profoundity of specific outcomes. It underscored that the evidence for the earliest period seemed to be quite early and stated that it needed further examination.

According to the letter, “the three periods require proper nomenclatures or re-orientation.” It remarked that the “8th century BCE to 5th century BCE for Period I requires concrete justification.” It also noted that “just mentioning depth for the available scientific dates is not enough but the layer number should also be marked for comparative consistency analysis.” The ASI also demanded that the manner in which dates were presented should also be amended.

However, Amarnath Ramakrishna refused to modify his results, maintaining that his research was sound from a scientific standpoint and supported by strict archaeological standards. He maintained that material culture, stratigraphic sequences and even Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) corroborated the report’s chronology.

A number of Tamil Nadu political groups, including the ruling-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and historian R. Balakrishnan, denounced the ASI’s move as an attempt to stifle Tamil culture. They accused that the failure to recognise Keeladi’s importance was motivated by politics.

On the other hand, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister for Culture, stated that additional scientific research was necessary to validate Ramakrishnan’s conclusions because they lacked technical support. He asserted that a single finding could not alter the entire discourse and therefore, more data, outcomes and proofs were needed to be collected.

Shekhawat stated that Tamil Nadu is a vital part of India and that its history should be honoured using knowledge based on science rather than polarising opinions. He informed Stalin that the union government would not hesitate to publish any reports and would be delighted to support the state if the research was validated by science.

The union minister declared that more convincing evidence is required for the report to be accepted by the scientific community. He even questioned was the Tamil Nadu government had been reluctant to work with the centre on this matter due to which the conflict has persisted.

“People holding such positions are trying to use that to grow regional sentiments. That is not fair. We have to be very cautious. Let archaeologists, historians, and technical experts discuss this, instead of politicians,” he mentioned.

However, Thangam Thennarasu, Tamil Nadu’s Archaeology Minister, charged that the union government treats Tamils as second-class citizens. He complained, “They also refused to allocate funds for the excavations and allowed the report to gather dust for two years. Now they say there is no adequate evidence. Every time they reject Tamil history, only the method of rejection changes.”

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (MDMK) Vaiko also claimed that the centre was attempting to promote “a non-existent Sanskrit civilisation” while repressing Tamil civilisation.

“How many obstacles do Tamils face? We have been fighting against all of them for thousands of years, and with the help of science, we have been establishing the antiquity of our race. Yet some minds refuse to accept it. It’s not the statements that need to be corrected, it’s some minds,” MK Stalin recently shared on social media last month while reacting on Ramakrishna’s recent transfer.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP from Madurai S Venkatesan expressed, “Transferring an official is not in itself a major issue, it is part of administrative procedures. But Amarnath Ramakrishna worked on the Keeladi excavation for eight years, without compromising on the truth. He was removed, reassigned and denied the opportunity to publish his findings. Only after court intervention was he allowed to write the report.”

He conveyed that the ASI had promised the court and Parliament that the report would be released in 11 months, but that deadline had not been fulfilled while the centre now wants more scientific proof at the final stage. “The message is clear: If you do not align with our views, this is what will be done to you. This is not just about an individual, it’s a discriminatory act against Tamil Nadu and against South Indian history itself,” he alleged.

The AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) which was in power when the Keeladi report was issued, did not comment on the dispute for a long time. On 18th June, however, its senior leader and former minister RB Udhayakumar stated that the union government had requested further data in order to provide “additional corroboration.” He added that his party would be the first one to voice its disapproval if the Keeladi report was rejected.

Stalin accused the party of remaining silent while the centre minimised the importance of the location to which Udhayakumar retorted that his party’s government had approved Rs 55 lakh for the 2018 excavations. Mafoi Pandiarajan, a senior AIADMK leader who helmed archaeology under Edappadi Palaniswamy, praised him as “Keeladi Nayakar” (hero of Keeladi) and gave him credit for proving Tamil antiquity. A veteran DMK leader retaliated, “Their belated pride in Keeladi rings hollow when they put alliance politics above Tamil identity.”

Central government demands excavation report

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked retired superintending archaeologist PS Sriraman to present the official excavation report for the third phase of the Keeladi excavations. He handled the short-lived third phase in 2017 after Ramakrishna’s abrupt transfer and reported that no major discoveries were made.

He retired in 2019 and has been given permission by the agency to write reports on the excavations he supervised in Keeladi, where he headed the third phase of excavations. He was also involved in the work for one season at Kodumanal which is situated on the northern banks of the Noyyal River in the Erode district, between 2017-2018.

According to archaeologists, Kodumanal could be split into two cultural periods: the Megalithic era and the Prehistoric era. During these times, the locals built durable structures, were skilled craftspeople and engaged in trade with several nations.

Sriraman would be writing the report from the ASI office in Chennai. He talked to The Hindu and revealed, “As I had retired, both reports were pending. I sought the approval of the ASI to access the material and prepare the reports. Since all the related materials are in Chennai, I will begin preparing the reports soon.”

He reiterated, “I have sought permission to complete the report since I am retired now. A formal communication from the ASI is expected soon,” while speaking with Deccan Herald. “The ASI instructed me to complete as quickly as possible. I am concentrating more on Kodumanal because it is an individual work – my work while the third phase in Keezhadi is for a shorter period and it was a continuation of work done earlier,” he asserted in conversation with The New Indian Express.

This comes more than a month after Ramakrishna was asked by the ASI to “resubmit” his report following the necessary changes recommended by two experts who reviewed it.

New dawn in India’s history: Traces of parallel civilization

The Keeladi site has unveiled a pivotal chapter in the history of Tamil Nadu. The indication that an artifact belonged to the 6th century BCE by the US laboratory Beta Analytics holds a major significance. They used the method of radiocarbon dating and suggested that it was contemporary with the urbanisation of the Gangetic plains.

The oldest of the 29 radiocarbon samples dated by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology since the 2017-18 excavation season was 580 BCE and the most recent was 200 CE. The results indicated that between the sixth century BCE and the second century CE, there was a vibrant urban and industrial civilisation that lasted for 800 years.

Large brick buildings from the Sangam Age had been discovered and provided proof of the development discussed in Sangam literature. Archaeologist K Rajan who is advisor to Tamil Nadu’s archaeology department voiced, “Most samples above the brick structures date to after the 3rd century BCE, while those below go as far back as the 6th century BCE,” reported The Times of India.

With the use of 3D technology and anthropometric measurements from a skull discovered at the Kondagai burial site, archaeologists are one step closer to unveiling the face of the ancient Tamil people who inhabited the Keeladi settlement thousands of years ago. Rajan stated, “Based on the skull, we will reconstruct the age, dietary pattern, determine the gender, and actual face of the person.”

He added, “This places Keeladi alongside the urbanisation of the Gangetic plains, India’s second urbanisation. Of the 29 radiocarbon dates, 12 fall in the pre-Ashokan era, before the 3rd century BCE.”

Over 20 research institutions from India and abroad are working with the state archaeology department to recreate life in Keeladi in 580 BCE. These involve Liverpool University in the United Kingdom, the University of Pisa in Italy, the Field Museum in Chicago, the French Institute of Pondicherry, IIT Gandhinagar and Deccan College.

Animal bones discovered in Keeladi are under examination at the Deccan College. The bones of bulls, buffaloes, goats, cows, sheep, dogs, pigs, antelope and spotted deer were located during excavations. Researchers at Madurai Kamaraj University are looking into ancient animal and human DNA in order to gain further insight into the mixing and human migration of the ancient residents of Keeladi and Kondagai, a Keeladi cluster hamlet.

A single site has produced 29 dates applying this scientific method. “It shows Keeladi was an urban settlement with a literate society and a community of artisans. It was an industrial hub along an ancient trade route linking the east coast port of Alagankulam to Muziris on the west coast via Madurai,” mentioned R Sivanandam, joint director of state archaeology department.

However, the settlement’s original name is still unknown. Towns, streets, palace structures, decorations, gemstones and international trade are part of Sangam literature. “Keeladi has proved that Sangam literature was a lived experience of ancient Tamils and not imaginative stories,” conveyed indologist R Balakrishnan.

At the site, archaeologists uncovered rectangular and cubic pieces of clay and ivory dice that, according to Balakrishnan, are referenced in “Kalithogai” the sixth of the eight anthologies of Sangam literature.

Rajan emphasised, “Keeladi isn’t the only site with roots in the 6th century BCE. Kodumanal, Porunthal, Sivagalai, Adichanallur and Korkai have also yielded dates from that period. Korkai has produced a date as early as 785 BCE, suggesting Sangam-age urbanisation was widespread.”

Only 4% of the 110 acres of cultural deposit at Keeladi have been unearthed by researchers in ten seasons of excavation. The state government intends to execute further excavations and has established a museum to display the discoveries. There are also plans for an on-site museum which will be the first of its sort in the country.

“Tamil Nadu has endured archaeological apathy for far too long until Keeladi sparked a wave of interest among Tamils,” complained Balakrishnan. Rajan expressed, “Keeladi is the first site that transformed the understanding of archaeology in Tamil Nadu.”

Faces from Keeladi

Meanwhile, a first-of-its-kind forensic facial reconstruction project coordinated by experts from Madurai Kamaraj University and Liverpool John Moores University restored the faces of two individuals who lived in the Keeladi region more than 2,500 years ago. Researchers described the facial features as South Indian with signs of ancient Austro-Asiatic people and West Eurasian (Iranian) hunter-gatherers.

The skulls were discovered around 800 meters from the main excavation site at Kondagai, a burial site. They added that more DNA research is required to identify the genetic ancestry.

Professor Caroline Wilkinson, director of Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University informed, “We used a computer-assisted 3D facial reconstruction system to rebuild the facial musculature and estimate facial features following anatomical and anthropometrical standards. . As the lower jaws of the skulls were missing, we used orthodontic standards to estimate the shapes of the mandibles from cranial measurements and planes,” according to a report in The Times of India.

According to professor G Kumaresan of Madurai Kamaraj University’s genetics department which scanned and sent pictures of the skulls to Liverpool, “It is 80% science and 20% art.” He outlined that the DNA information and the recreated faces could be useful in determining the lineage of Tamils who lived during the Sangam era.

Critical moment in India’s civilisational journey

The 90-by-60-meter excavated area contains artefacts like as dice, unidentified copper coins, glass, shell, ivory, pearl, and terracotta beads, seals and gold decorations. More importantly, it is one of the few locations in Tamil Nadu, along with Arikamedu, Kaveripattinam and Korkai, to produce a broad range of structures, including intricate brick constructions, tank-like drainage systems, double-walled furnaces and terracotta ring wells.

All of this not only indicates a vibrant, literate and successful urbanized community but also emphasizes the advanced nature of Indian civilization. Its origins trace back to the timeline of the Gangetic plains which also illuminate how India has been home to not just one but multiple prime civilizations and flourishing communities residing in both the northern and southern regions of this vast country for many centuries. Furthermore, the discoveries indicated that they were also linked to the external world.

Such developments not only reinforce the deep civilizational roots of this ancient country but also aid in comprehending the elements of our age-old society. The myths surrounding foreigners who landed in the country and established their communities are also debunked by these revelations, which confirm that the nation has been the cradle of multiple ancient advanced settlements displaying city planning, trade, leisure and all indications of a vibrant cultural society.

These discoveries are therefore not merely a matter of pride but are crucial in preserving our civilizational foundations, comprehending and sustaining a continuous connection with our past, as well as understanding our background. Certainly, the sophisticated perspective of our forebears and the societies they formed and preserved over centuries is truly a subject of admiration.

Intellectuals, historians, epigraphists, geologists and archaeology aficionados have all been drawn to Keeladi to analyse the historical relevance it provides to society and it has even prompted several research investigations. The region is now inching closer as a significant archaeological site on the global map.