Unravelling ancient history in Tamil Nadu, chief minister M K Stalin announced in the state assembly on thursday that the Thamirabarani civilisation was 3200 years old. This was based on carbon dating analysis of paddy with soil found in a burial urn in Sivakalai in thoothukudi district.
Using AMS carbon dating method, US lab Beta analytic found that the paddy in the urn belong to 1155 BEC, which is 600 years older than the samples found in keeladi in Sivagangai district where current excavations have been throwing up with exciting findings. Historians says that the graffiti found inIndus Valley civilisation and that encountered in south India are about 80% identical. This suggests that there may be some linguistic connection between Indus Valley Civilisation, south India and Srilanka.
The shortest river in the state, the Thamirabarani starts in Pothigai hills of the wqestern ghats in the Ambasamudham taluk, flows through Thirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts and the empires of Korkai into the gulf of Mannar.
Stalin said that the government will set up a meuseum at Thirunelveli to showcase rare artefacts found in Adhichanalur and Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district and Korkai at a cost of Rupees 15 crore.
“To establish the ancientness of Chera country and culture, the state government will conduct an excavation at Chera-era port city Musuri(now Pattanam) in kerala along with the localo archaeologists,”Stalin said, making a suo-motu statement in assembly.
He said that the archaeological department will conduct research in Quseir al-Qadim in Egypt, which was once part of the Roman empire, as well as in Khor Rori in Oman to establish tamil’s trade relation with these countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Viatnam(conqured by the tamil king Rajendra Chola) with the help of the local archaeologists, he added.
“In search of the cultural roots of tamils, we will travel across the world. The government will scientifically establish with evidence that the history of Indian sub-continent should began with the Tamil landscape” said the chief minister. He recalled that the center has left the exscavations at keeladi incomplete, prompting the state to continue its initiative.
“Further excavations and carbon dating established that the tamils were litrate in the sixth century BC itself. Keeladi has reunited the tamils alover the world and with that sprit, the state archeological department is now excavating sites at Adhichanallur, Sivakalai, Korkai, Kodumalai, Mayiladumparai and Gangai konda Cholapuram,” he said.
