THOOTHUKUDI: Commissioner of Department of Archaeology T Udhayachandran visited Adichanallur and Sivagalai on Friday to inspect artefacts from there. The State government began excavations at Adichanallur and Sivagalai villages under excavation directors J Baskar and M Prabakaran on May 25 this year.
The excavators dug 11 trenches (26 quadrants) including three quadrants in Sivagalai. According to Prabakaran, 96 antiques and 31 urns of different sizes were unearthed from the Sivagalai archaeological site. Among the urns, 19 were found opened. Some of the urns contained small-sized pots, one contained paddy, and another pot contained the remains of a jaw, possibly of a human being.
The excavators had unearthed a potsherd with Tamil Brahmi script. The script is yet to be read. Other artefacts include copper coins, shell bangle, grinding stone, stone objects, figurines, hopscotch, graffiti potsherd, Tamil Brahmi scripts, iron objects, flake tools, red and black earthen wares, lid knobs and pots of various sizes.
Since Adichanallur was known as a century-old burial site, the excavators dug 72 trenches in the nearby villages to search for a habitation site. This was the first time Tamil Nadu government excavated the Adichanallur site. The artifacts unearthed in 2004 date back to BCE 905 and BCE 696.