THOOTHUKUDI: The ancient port city of Korkai is all set to be excavated after 52 years again. The Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology had surveyed the region back in 1968 under the behest of Director R Nagaswamy and it is said to be the first survey by the state in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) granted necessary approvals to Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology to carry out the excavations at Korkai, Adichanallur and Sivagalai among seven archeological sites in the state for the financial year 2020-21.
Korkai, the ancient historical village abound to Eral taluk (formerly Srivaikuntam) in Thoothukudi, is located three-kilometers north of river Thamirabarani and less than 8 kilometers from the shore of Bay of Bengal. It is also 20 kilometer East of Adichanallur, another monumental site, where one of the largest urn burials have been excavated.
Korkai was popularly known for its pearl fishery and has a long history to cherish finding its name in Tamil sangam literatures and also noted as "Colchis" in Periplus of the Erythrean Sea which is a maritime traders' guide belong to the mid-first century and "Kolkhoi" by Ptolemy who visited the southern peninsula in the second century.
Historian and retired professor A Sivasubramanian said that Korkai has been referred to in various ancient Tamil literatures including Silapathikaram, Kalithogai, Akananuru and Aingurunuru.
The excavation conducted by Nagaswamy unearthed a structure with nine courses of bricks in six rows at the depth of two-and-a-half feet from surface level and three large sized rings placed one over the other, below the brick course. Besides, potsherds bearing Tamil Brahmi letters belonging to 300 BCE to 200 CE were found, and the charcoal samples collected from the site were assigned to 785 BCE by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. The previous archeological surveys have brought to light the ruins of chankcutting factories, units for split opening of pearl oysters at the site. Nagaswamy had dug five trenches near Vanni tree and Vetrivel amman temple to unearth hundreds of artefacts back then, said a senior official.
The artefacts collected from Korkai in 1968 were initially stored at a museum in Korkai village, however, it was shifted to Madurai and Chennai, when the museum was closed in late 90's due to poor footfall, said sources.
Pandyan port Korkai
The historians say, Korkai was once a major port during the Pandyan era who had a thick maritime trade with Roman empire and overseas countries. "The researchers have found Roman ware and rouletted ware from Korkai. The villagers still find a huge number of chunks and oysters shells and coins of different ages when they dig a few feet down the earth", says Tamil writer Muthalankurichi Kamarasu.
"The present Gulf of Mannar of east coast was mentioned as the "Colchic Gulf" in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea due to the prominence of Korkai at that time, said Sivasubramanian.
Contending the poor attention given to the archaeological sites, Sivasubramanian said that the statue of Jain Tirthankar which was near the Vanni tree is now missing.
Korkai lost its prominence after the 5th century AD when the Pandyan kingdom's capital was shifted to Madurai, he added.
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Department of Science and Technology, scientist Mordhagai, the sea had receded nearly 8 kilometre over the past 2000 years. The Palaeo-channels traced from the satellite imagery have indicated that the river has gradually shifted its course from east and south, he said, still he is studying to establish it based on the presence of microorganisms.
Around Korkai
It is pertinent to note that Korkai has a 2000-year-old "Vanni tree" still standing green and it has become a tourist site. The centuries old Vetrivel Chezhiya Nangai Amman temple on the Korkaikulam tank is remembered as an old port and district administration had raised an arch. An ancient stone temple Akasalai Eswaramudaiyar temple having stone inscriptions and the adjacent Akasala street, which has its reference to the Silapathikaram, are still evident to the ancient port city.
"The stone inscription at the Akasalai Eswaramudaiyar temple remains blemished as it had been painted over", says Korkai locals and needs protection even though the archeological department officials had taken its imprints.
A few kilometers downstream, a big brick structure came to light near Authoor-Mukkani bridge when river Thamirabarani dried a couple of years ago. There were stone pillars, arts and bricks. The structure appeared to be a big circle, and seemed to be a boat jetty, said Kamarasu.
Excavation in 2021
An archaeologist told TNIE that they are intended to excavate the Korkai cluster villages - Arumugamangalam, Maramangalam, Agaram in the surrounding, to find the traces of ancient ports and boat jetties. We study the are geologically and scientifically when the sea receded, he said.
As of now, the archaeologists had marked areas for excavation around 40 metre away from the site formerly excavated by Nagaswamy.
The archaeologists said that the Srivaikuntam panchayat union had handed over the tourist interpretation centre to the department of archaeology for storing the antiquities to be unearthed from the site.
Subramanian, a local villager said that the Department of archaeology should bring back the Museum to Korkai so that many tourists visit the place. "The tourist interpretation centre should be converted into an Archaeological Information Centre to guide the tourists", he said.