Digging of megalithic burials at Kodumanal begins

Two months after a group from the State Department of Archaeology started excavation on the Noyyal river mattress at Kodumanal village in Chennimalai Union the place iron smelting items had been unearthed just lately in massive numbers, the group started excavation work at three megalithic burial websites right here on Wednesday.

A group led by J. Ranjith, Archaeology Officer and Project Director for the Kodumanal excavation, K. Suresh, Archeological Officer, started excavations on February 26 and had up to now dug 28 quadrants and unearthed iron smelting items and located furnaces and different processing supplies.

Also learn: Ancient granary discovered at Kodumanal

The group recognized over 10 cairn-circle mounds, all positioned about 500 metres from the river, and excavation works started at three mounds. A group from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had beforehand carried out excavation at the burials right here. Mr. Ranjith informed The Puucho that, “Only secondary burials were unearthed in all the previous excavations at Kodumanal and hence the focus is on identifying primary burials which would throw more light on the earlier human settlements”.

During the excavation final yr, the group opened 27 burials that exposed three tyres of burials, cairn circle, urn burial and urn burial with and with out cists. “Burial methods and their size revealed that multi-ethnic groups lived in the area”, he added.

Ceremonial pots together with beads and graffiti had been discovered contained in the burials that had been despatched for carbon-dating. Earlier excavations additionally revealed that the location served as a trade-cum-industrial centre courting it to over 2,500 years. The grave often accommodates bones, pots and bowls stuffed with grains and different supplies utilized by the deceased as folks believed in a brand new life after loss of life.