VIRUDHUNAGAR: A 750-year-old Picottah (a type of lever system used to pump water from a well) stone pillar inscription belonging to the later Pandya period was found by a historian and archaeologist during their field visit to Pattakulam Sallipatti village near Srivilliputhur.
According to sources, it was customary to dig wells and use them during times of rainwater scarcity, due to which the ponds became parched. "The wells, which were constructed by the rulers and merchants of the area during the Pandya period, were dug near a temple and were known as Thiru Manchanam (holy water for the bath of an idol) wells and those on the roads were public drinking wells," sources said.
President of Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation V Rajaguru and historian Noorsahipuram Sivakumar found an inscription on the Picottah stone pillar in front of Sribalandi Ayyanar Temple situated on the bank of Pattakulam tank during their field visit. The inscription has been estampaged and studied by the duo.
"The rectangular stone pillar is 7 feet high, 1.5 feet wide and the top is narrow. The bottom of the pillar has an inscription that states that Swastishri Ariyan Choran Vijaya Kangar made the donation," they said, adding that Ariyan Choran Vijaya Kangar who donated the well and a Picottah might have been the ruler of the region during the Pandya period. While only Picottah is found at present, the well might have been closed, they added.
It is also to be noted that a similar Picottah stone pillar is present in Vizhuppanur, which is very close to the village. The Sundara Pandya inscription reveals that a man from Malai Mandalam (Kerala) built the well and the Picottah. "Such wells were dug in villages like Vellur, Vizhuppanur, Manakacherry, Maraneri, and Arjunapuram during the Pandya period at the end of 13th Century AD," they said, adding that during this period, water was scarce in these areas. Based on the script of the inscription, it can be assumed that it belonged to the 13th-14th century AD of the later Pandyas.