Iron implements, mostly blades and axe heads, carnelian beads, offering pots and a stone nut-cracker were unearthed from the excavation site at Kilnamandi around 20 km from Vandavasi town in Tiruvannamalai.
The findings, archaeologists say, indicate the existence of human settlements dating back to the later phase of the Iron Age at the excavation site. The four-member excavation team, which includes two research scholars, is led by Victor Gnanaraj, excavation director and senior archaeologist of the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA).
The excavation was launched by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in April to trace ancient settlements, especially in the northern parts of the State. “The objects found at the site are encouraging as we are hopeful that we can unearth the remains of a proper human settlement soon,” Mr. Gnanaraj told The Hindu.
Currently, the excavation is being done on a one acre plot within the 55-acre site as part of the initial phase. Seven trenches, each around 6-m long and 1-m deep, were dug near small mounds at the site. These mounds are said to be the undisturbed remains from ancient human settlements and are storehouses of objects, tools and other archaeological evidence, officials said.
The two-month work yielded nearly 40 offering pots, which are mostly buried alongside the dead in stone circles, a form of megalithic burial popular in the region during the period. Most of these earthen pots contain graffiti, composed mostly lines and arrow marks, on it.
The team also unearthed 12 rectangular sarcophagi at the site. Most of these are around 1-m long and half-a-metre wide. A large number of black and red wares and red slipped wares were also found, dating the site to the Iron Age.
Archaeologists said the excavation, which has been done for the first time in Vandavasi taluk due to its proximity to Megalithic sites in Cheyyar and Kancheepuram, will help to analyse the origin of human settlement at the site and the culture, economic and social activity of its residents.
The on-going excavation will continue till the end of September before the onset of northeast monsoon. Subsequently, the findings will be documented. Based on the objects unearthed, the State government will take a decision on further excavations at the site, the archaeologists said.
