CHENNAI: The CP Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation along with the Indian Council of Historical Research on Friday launched a two-day seminar on the ‘Importance of Archaeology in Decoding Indian History’ on its premises in Chennai.
During the inaugural address, director general of New Delhi’s National Museum, Professor BR Mani, delivered a presentation on the excavation which brought to light the existence of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Over the course of an hour, Professor Mani, who led the excavation as superintending archaeologist of the ASI, said the archaeological evidence unearthed at the then disputed site since 2003 had revealed a continuous cultural sequence of nine periods starting from the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) culture (roughly 700 to 200 BCE) till modern times.
The evidence also indicated the presence of a large temple constructed in the late 11th or 12th century CE which had pillars of black schist found at the site and reused in the Babri mosque.
Dr Nanditha Krishna, president of the foundation spoke about how the recent discovery of iron in Sivakalai in Tamil Nadu had pushed the iron age of South India back in time.
The inaugural address of the session was delivered by the former director of Archaeology of Kerala Dr T Satyamurthy. The two-day session features multiple lectures on topics including the impact of excavations on the Tamil Nadu coast on maritime history and excavations in Kancheepuram district.