Major discovey: Crystal quartz used as weight found at Keeladi excavation site, confirms ASI

A stunning discovery at the archaeological site of Keeladi (also spelt Keezhadi) in southern India has created great euphoria among scholars and archaeologists. “A weighing unit made of crystal quartz was found in the 9th phase of the excavations in Keeladi,” R. Sivanandam, Joint Director, Department of Archaeology told the media.

Previously, on the Keeladi site, other artefacts found ranged from potsherds, inscribed with graffiti quite similar to that found at the Indus Valley sites – to beads made of carnelian, glass, agate, and other colourful minerals in unusually large quantities and at single sites. These finds suggested that Keeladi was some kind of a bead warehouse or a market. That excited scholars as it was proof that there was a literate and structured Tamil society as early as 6th century BC.

The Keeladi site is not a new excavation site as archaeologists have been unearthing traces of an urban civilisation on this site located on the banks of the Vaigai river that flows in the southern part of Tamil Nadu for nearly a decade now.

கீழடி அகழாய்வில் எடை கல் கண்டெடுப்பு #Keeladi | #Keezhadi pic.twitter.com/hhkQ2Blw20

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This site is located in the Sivaganga district but just a few kilometers from Madurai city. Archaeologists of the ASI decided that that among the 293 possible sites along the Vaigai river valley and 90-100 of which showed signs of habitation – Keeladi held the maximum promise. Spread over a coconut plantation,

In the first phase of excavations spanning over two seasons, ASI fund 5,800 artefacts at the site. The charge of excavations was then acquired by the Tamil Nadu state department of archaeology. But in the eighth phase of excavations, ASI came back into the picture and as per reports, the total nearly 18,000 artefacts found and other findings have now helped historians push back the date of the Sangam literature period to 800 BC- i.e., almost 500 years than previously accepted.

The Keeladi site excavation has thrown up inscriptions of Sangam-age names in Tamil Brahmi script and a cache of pots -including Roman amphorae. These artefacts along with others have been held up as concrete evidence of the first advanced river valley civilisation in Tamil Nadu. This seems to run concurrent to the second wave of urbanisation that had swept the Gangetic plains.

So, while the Sangam period literature has been helpful in describing the glories of the Sangam era (300 BCE-300 CE) with the Chera, Chola, Pandian kingdoms at their peak, these artefacts have not only taken the date further back but also become physical proofs that support the literary canons.