CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday inaugurated the ninth phase of excavation in Keeladi and neighbouring areas and the first phase of excavation at Kilnamandi in Tiruvannamalai district through a videoconference from the state secretariat.
In all, the state archaeological department will undertake excavations in eight places this year and for the first time, the department will undertake simultaneous excavations at eight locations. The CM also released a Keeladi augmented reality app with which people from across the globe can view the 200 artefacts excavated in Keeladi in augmented reality and 3D mode.
The eight places where excavations will take place this year are Keeladi (Sivaganga district), Gangaikondacholapuram (Ariyalur district), Vembakottai (Virudhunagar), Thulukkarpatti (Tirunelveli), Kilnamandi (Tiruvannamalai), Porpanaikottai (Pudukkottai), Poothinatham (Dharmapuri) and Pattaramperumbudur. An official release said Tamil Nadu is a landscape that has 15 lakh years of human history and to know the antiquity of this landscape, proper excavations have to be done. The excavations have thrown new light on the history of the state.
The carbon dating analysis of rice with husk found in a burial urn in Sivakalai in Tirunelveli district has established that the civilization in Tamirabarani date back to 3,200 years. The excavations at Mayiladumparai in Krishnagiri district have proved that the Iron Age in Tamil Nadu began 4,200 years ago (2,200 BCE). The Tamil Nadu government has proposed to conduct excavations across the state from the prehistoric period to the post-historic period. The state has allocated `5 crore for undertaking excavations in eight places, and to conduct field inspections and excavations at Korkai, a Pandya-era town.
Using the Keeladi augmented reality app, the entire excavation site and artefacts can be seen on a mobile phone. Also, by scanning QR codes displayed at the Keeladi Museum, details about historic places could be known better.