Chennai: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said that the archaeological findings from the Keeladi excavation site in Tamil Nadu require further scientific validation before it is given official recognition.
The report submitted to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) by archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who conducted the first two phases of excavation at Keeladai, lacked sufficient technical support, the culture minister told reporters Tuesday.
“The reports are not yet technically well supported. A lot remains to be done before recognising the findings presented by the archaeologist who conducted the survey. Let them come with more results, data and evidence. Because, a single finding cannot change the entire discourse,” he added.
The culture minister also expressed concerns over attempts to politicise the archaeological findings and using the new findings and discoveries to trigger the regional sentiments.
“People in the positions are trying to use it to grow their regional sentiments. That is not good. We have to be very cautious about it. Let archaeologists, historians and technical experts discuss this and let politicians leave it to them,” he said.
Keeladi is an archaeological excavation site located on the banks of Vaigai river at Sivagangai district. The ASI unearthed over 20,000 artifacts and dated them back to 6th century BCE, which was supported by advanced dating techniques
Tamil Nadu Minister for Archaeology Thangam Thennarasu responded to Shekhawat’s statement, saying that history and truth would not wait for cheap politics.
“Even though world scientific studies agree that we are 5350 years old; technologically advanced, and have an ancient civilization, why is the Union Government in the same country so reluctant to admit it? Is it because of the unquenchable thirst to keep Tamils as second-class citizens forever,” Thangam Thennarasu questioned in his post on ‘X’.
“When the Prime Minister said in Parliament that ‘Sanskrit is the mother tongue of all Indian languages,’ we didn’t ask, ‘What is the scientific evidence?’ Because no such study has been conducted.”
Madurai MP Su Venkatesan also took a dig at the Union minister, stating that he cannot do further examination since “cow remains are not available now”
“Scientific institutions have conducted research on the history of Keezhadi and submitted reports. The bones of the cows found in Keezhadi have been examined. But since the cow remains are not available now, there is no opportunity for further examination, Minister,” the CPI(M) MP said in a post Tuesday on ‘X’.
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Journey of Keeladi excavation
In 2013-14, Superintending Archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna conducted a survey on the banks of the Vaigai river and identified as many as 293 potential archaeological sites including the Keeladi in Sivagangai district for excavation because of its proximity to Madurai district.
In 2015, the ASI began its first phase of excavation at Pallichanthai Thidal in Keeladi where the archaeologists excavated artifacts suggesting an early urban settlement which includes brick stricture, and potteries, referring to the Sangam era.
The next year, Amarnath unearthed about 5,800 artifacts which include potsherds inscribed with Tamil-Brahmi scripts, and other evidence of trade links. Carbon dating of the charcoal samples dated the settlement to around 200 BCE and some of the findings even suggested early dates of 6th century BCE.
It was at this juncture that the ASI transferred the archaeologist to Guwahati circle. This sparked controversy in Tamil Nadu, with political parties alleging that the ASI was attempting to suppress the findings of archaeological sites which discovered the ancientness of Tamil.
The ASI appointed archaeologist P.S Sriraman to continue the third phase of excavation in 2017 and concluded it in September that year stating that there were “no significant findings” This again triggered widespread criticism from Tamil Nadu politicians.
Subsequently, in 2017, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Madras High Court, urging the excavation be and publishing of Amarnath’s report. The HC then directed the Tamil Nadu State department of Archaeology (TNSDA) to take over the excavations from the fourth phase onwards and continue the excavation.
The TNSDA then unearthed about 5,820 artifacts, including brick structures and gold ornaments. Samples dated by Beta Analytic Lab in Miami dated the samples to be between 6th century BCE and 1st century BCE, pushing the Sangam Era further back.
In 2023, Amarnath submitted a 982-page report on the first two phases of Keeladi excavation, which had reports on the evidence of urban structure, pottery and trade network. It was also said that the report placed the Keeladi settlement between 8th century BCE and 3rd century BCE.
Two years after the submission of the report, on May 21, 2025, the ASI wrote to the archaeologist to revise his report to enhance authenticity and question the classification of historical period and dating the site earlier to 300 BCE. He refused to revise the report, saying that his report was backed by scientific evidence.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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