Latest news with #Sangam-era
New Indian Express
6 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
CM Stalin inaugurates Semmozhi expo on Karuna's birth anniversary
CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday inaugurated the Tamil Semmozhi exhibition as part of the Semmozhi Naal celebrations. The birth anniversary of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, June 3, is being celebrated as Semmozhi Naal. The exhibition, which is on at Kalaivanar Arangam, showcases a rare collection of photographs of Karunanidhi, old editions of classical Tamil works, palm-leaf manuscripts giving details about the evolution of Tamil language, literature and civilisation through artefacts showing the antiquity of Tamil civilisation. An official release said the exhibition has been extended till June 9 so that the public and students from schools and colleges could view it free of cost. The exhibition features include the history of classical Tamil, scripts from the Indus valley and Tamil Nadu symbols, Sangam-era inscriptions, pottery with Tamil inscriptions, details of Thirvalangadu copper plates, hero stone inscription from Keezh Mukkuttoor, Kalaiganr Karuvoolam with digital interactive features, a list of nationalised works of Karunanidhi, etc. As part of the Semmozhi Naal celebrations, the government will also be organising literary competitions, including oratorical contests, contests on writing poetry, quiz programmes, moral storytelling events, etc.
Scroll.in
29-05-2025
- General
- Scroll.in
ASI denies it is ‘uninterested' in publishing Keeladi excavation report
The Archaeological Survey of India on Thursday denied allegations that it was uninterested in publishing the reports about the Keeladi excavation in Tamil Nadu. 'That the ASI is uninterested in publication of Keeladi report is a figment of imagination which aims purposefully to paint the department in bad colours,' the department said in a statement. The Archaeological Survey of India's statement came following reports earlier in May that the department had directed archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to resubmit his report on the Keeladi excavations after making corrections suggested by two experts. Ramakrishna, who led the discovery of the Sangam-era site near Madurai, had submitted more than two years ago the report detailing the first two phases of the excavation. The Indian Express had reported on Sunday that Ramakrishna had refused to revise the report, defending the findings and methodology that was used in documenting details about the archaeological site. The Archaeological Survey of India said on Thursday that the letter from the director (excavations and explorations) 'is a routine matter, which the director regularly writes to the excavators for carrying out changes in the report or otherwise'. 'Great emphasis is given to this aspect [publishing reports about excavated sites], since much time, energy and money is spent on every excavation work and the basic purpose of the excavation work otherwise, remains unfulfilled,' the department said. It added: 'In a set process, after the submission of the reports by the excavators, those are then sent to various subject experts, who are requested to vet the reports for publication. Various alterations, as suggested by the subject experts, are carried out by the excavators and resubmitted finally for publication.' The procedure was adopted in case of the Keeladi too, the Archaeological Survey of India said. 'Accordingly, the excavator of the Keeladi has been communicated the suggestions of the experts for making necessary correction in the draft report submitted by him, but he did not carry out the correction till date,' the statement said. The department said that the 'story being circulated in a part of the media is misleading, untrue and is being absolutely and vehemently denied'. All reports need proper vetting, editing, proof reading and designing before it is sent for publication, it added. Keeladi has been at the centre of a political debate in recent years. Ramakrishna, who led the two excavation phases at Keeladi between 2014 and 2016, had unearthed more than 5,500 artefacts pointing to an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam era. The Sangam era is the period between 3rd century before common era to the 3rd century common era in southern India. In 2017, the Archaeological Survey of India transferred Ramakrishna to Assam. Political parties had described this move as 'unusual' at the time, The New Indian Express reported. The discovery had attracted widespread attention and was viewed as an attempt to downplay the excavation's significance, according to The Hindu.
Scroll.in
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
ASI asks archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to rework his Keeladi excavation report
The Archaeological Survey of India has directed archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to resubmit his report on the Keeladi excavations after making corrections suggested by two experts, The Hindu reported on Thursday. Ramakrishna, who led the discovery of the Sangam-era site near Madurai, had submitted more than two years ago the 982-page report detailing the first two phases of the excavation. Political debate about Keeladi Keeladi has been at the centre of a political debate in recent years. Ramakrishna, who led the two excavation phases at Keeladi between 2014 and 2016, had unearthed more than 5,500 artefacts pointing to an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam era. The Sangam era is the period between 3rd century before common era to the 3rd century common era in southern India. In 2017, the Archaeological Survey of India transferred Ramakrishna to Assam. Political parties had described this move as 'unusual' at the time, The New Indian Express reported. The discovery had attracted widespread attention and Ramakrishna's transfer was viewed as an attempt to downplay the excavation's significance, according to The Hindu. The government agency carried out the third phase of the excavation. But it announced in 2017 that no significant findings had emerged and halted the excavation. The decision was criticised by politicians in Tamil Nadu, who accused the Union government of attempting to suppress evidence of an ancient Tamil civilisation, according to The Hindu. However, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court asked the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology to take over the excavation, the Deccan Herald reported. The eleventh phase of excavation will take place in June. About 20,000 artefacts have been recovered from Keeladi since 2014. In the report submitted in 2023, Ramakrishna – who is now the director of antiquities – relied on accelerator mass spectrometry dating of 23 artefacts, which determined that they were from around 300 CE, the Deccan Herald reported. Using this data, he established the chronological span of the Keeladi site to be between 8th century BC and 3rd century CE. Changes recommended In a letter on Wednesday, Archaeological Survey of India's Director (Exploration and Excavation) HA Naik informed Ramakrishna that two experts had recommended corrections to his draft report to make it ' more authentic ', the Deccan Herald reported. The letter noted that the classification of the three cultural periods needed clearer nomenclature or reorientation, and that the proposed timeline – 8th century BCE to 5th century BCE – required 'concrete justification'. The Archaeological Survey of India also flagged gaps in the report's documentation, according to The Hindu. The government agency said that referencing only the depth of artefacts was not adequate and that layer numbers were necessary for 'consistent' comparison. It further noted that several maps, including the village layout, were unclear, and key components like plates, contour maps, stratigraphic illustrations and trench layout plans were either absent or needed refinement, the newspaper added. Former Indian Administrative Services officer R Balakrishnan, author of Journey of a Civilisation: Indus to Vaigai, described the Archaeological Survey of India's move as unprecedented and likely driven by the 'pressure of history', The Hindu reported. Balakrishnan said that the government agency's approach to southern archaeology had consistently been lacking. 'We have been seeing a clear bias,' The Hindu quoted him as saying. 'In a multicultural country like India, history requires careful and responsible handling.'
