An ancient site that has become a political item in India

The village of Kielad in South Tamil -Nadad in India revealed archaeological finds that caused a political and historical battle.

Among the coconut groves, a series of 15 feet (4.5 m) show ancient artifacts, buried in soil layers – fragments of terracotta pots and traces of long -lost brick structures.

Experts from the State Department of Archeology Tamil Nadu estimate the artifacts from 2000 to 2500 years, and the oldest dates from about 580 B.C. They say that these conclusions call and redo existing stories about early civilization on Indian subcontinents.

With politicians, historians and epigraphs who weighing, Kielad went beyond archeology, becoming a symbol of state pride and identity against the background of competing historical narratives.

However, history lovers say that this remains one of the most convincing and affordable discoveries of modern India – offering a rare opportunity to deepen our understanding of the common past.

Kielad, a village of 12 km (7 miles) from the Maduraja on the river Vaiga river, was one of the 100 sites, which were included in the excavation of the archaeological service of India (ASI) archaeologist Amaarnat Ramakroshnan in 2013.

He chose a 100-way site there because of the proximity to the ancient Maduraja and the pre-opening of the red-black pottery at school in 1975.

Since 2014, 10 excavations in Keeladi have discovered more than 15,000 artifacts – burial urns, coins, beads, terracotta pipes and more – of four of the 100 hectares. Many are now displayed in a nearby museum.

Aji Kumar, which leads the state archaeological group in Kurdi, says that the key finds are complex brick structures and water systems-testimony of the 2500-year-old urban settlement.

“It was a literate urban society where people had separate spaces for residence, burial and industrial work practices,” says Mr. Kumar, noting that it was the first large, defined ancient urban settlement found in southern India.

Since the opening of the Indus Valley civilization in the early 1900s, most of the efforts to see the origin of civilization on the subcontinea have focused on Northern and Central India.

Thus, the findings of the Kurdi caused the excitement of Tamil Nadu and beyond.

William Daniel, a teacher from neighboring Kerala, said the discoveries made him be proud of his heritage.

“It gives people from the south (India) to be proud of that our civilization is as ancient and important as the north (India),” he says.

Kielad’s policy reflects a deeply rooted gap to the North-South-Subtracts as an understanding of this must be fought with the past.

The first major civilization in India – the Indo Valley – appeared in the northern and central regions between 3,300 and 1300 BC. After its decline, the second urban phase, the Vedic period, rose on the ganggetic plains, lasts until the 6th century BC.

At this stage, large cities, powerful kingdoms and the rise of Vedic culture were seen – the basis for Hinduism. As a result, urbanization in ancient India is often regarded as a northern phenomenon, with the dominant story that the Northern Aryans “civilized” the David South.

This is especially evident from the understanding of literacy.

It is believed that the scenario of Ashocana Brahmi -found in the rock -eneduts of Maurian King Ashoki in the North and Central India, dating from the 3rd century BC -is the precursor to most scenarios in Southern and Southeast Asia.

Epigraphists such as Ivatem Mahadena and Subaraju have long expressed the opinion that the script Tamil Brahmi was a Tamil language spoken in Tamil Nadu and written in the script of the Brahmi – the script of Ashokan Brahmi.

But now archaeologists from the State Department Tamil Nadu say that the excavations in Kurdi are challenged by this story.

“We found graffiti in the script of the Tamil Brahmi, which dates from the 6th century BC, which shows that he is older than Ashocan Brahmi. We believe that both scenarios developed independently and may have left the Indo Valley scenario,” says Mr. Kumar.

Epigraph of Ravivela, former professor at the Marine Archeology of Tamil University, agrees with Mr. Kumar and says that other excavations in the state also discovered graffiti in the script Tamil Brahmi, which concern the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

But some experts point out that additional research and evidence are needed to convincingly prove the antiquity of the Tamil Brahmi scenario.

Another requirement of the State Department of Archeology, which broke the feathers, is that graffiti found on artifacts in a khodda, similar to what is found in the Indus Valley sites.

“People from the Indo Valley may have migrated to the south, which led to a period of urbanization, which took place at the Kurdi, at the same time it took place on the Gongetic plains,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that additional excavations were needed to fully understand the scale.

But Kumar, Professor of Archeology University T settings in Bihara, says it would be impossible.

“Given the rudimentary travel state then, people from the Indo Valley would not be able to migrate to the south in so much quantity to create civilization,” he says. He believes that the findings in Kurdi can be compared to a small “settlement”.

While archaeologists are discussing the conclusions, politicians are already pursuing links between the Kurdi and the Indo Valley – some even claim that they existed either as the Indo Valley in the Early Southern Indian, or Dravidian, civilization.

The controversy over the transfer of the archaeologist ASI D Ramakrishna – who led the excavation of the Kurdi – increased the political tension of the site.

In 2017, after two rounds of excavations, Asi passed Mr. The Tamil Nadu government has accused the federal agency of intentionally obstructing the excavation of Tamil’s pride.

Asi’s request in 2023 about Mr. He refused, insisting on his findings, which were accompanied by standard archaeological methods.

In June, Chief Minister Tamil Nada MK Stalin called the federal government’s refusal to publish a report by Mr. Tatanaras’s State Minister Tatanaras accused Bharatiy Jonatia Federal Government (BJP) of deliberate information to delete Tamilian history.

Indian Culture Minister Gaendra Singh Shekhavat said that the report of Mr.

Returning to the museum, the children study the exhibits during the school visit while the construction continues on the street to create an open -air museum at the site of the excavation.

Journalist Council of Aisha, author of the future book about Keeladi, recalls the sharp sensations of her first visit.

“History disclosure is a journey to better understand our common past. Through small clues – for example, Sergean beads from the North -Western or Roman copper coins – Keladi shows that our ancestors were much more related,” she says.

“The divisions we see today are currently composed of history.”