CHENNAI: After weeks of strenuous and untiring digging, excavators at Keezhadi have unearthed a small-size ring well that has raised hopes of finding more such structures to bring out the hidden glories of Tamil culture.
A team of archaeologists, led by Excavation Director R Sivanantham, has been carrying out the expedition adjacent to the site where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) dug up during its first season of excavation. They stumbled upon the ring well during the course of trenching. “The well has six rings with a 93-cm radius,” Sivanantham told Express. Going by the properties, it must have served as a storage well, either to stock water or any other liquid material.
The size of the rings also suggests existence of an industrial area around the site, he said, adding that the ASI had already uncovered two such ring wells.It may also be presumed that the ring well should have been served as a well to scoop water if the site had been a habitation. “A thorough study will reveal the nature of the well and the purpose it had served,” another archaeologist noted.
This apart, the excavation team at Keezhadi, located very close to Madurai, has dug out a treasure trove of 2,000 artefacts so far. The State department of Archaeology had stepped into the scene following widespread allegations of the ASI going slow in Keezhadi because of the intervention of higher-ups in the Centre, whom TN parties and Tamil organisations accused of showing bias, as the site had promising evidences to prove existence of an ancient, urban civilisation.
“This excavation is certainly going to disseminate the ancient Tamil culture and kindle the eagerness for understanding rich heritage that existed in Tamil Nadu,” said an official of the State Archaeology Department.