Keezhadi-Cradle of Tamil Civilization-Ep-7
Now the history shifts from Keezhadi to Konthagai, another village in Sivagangai district part of the same cluster of the archaeological find. Two burial urns were detected and human bones found, and sent for DNA analysis. Below photo is of transport of royal mummies as part of parade in Egypt. Many would argue is this needed for a country when there are poor and world is advancing in smartphone age. But make no mistake, our ancestors had more knowledge and wisdom than the current generations combined. It is said the technology of pyramid building is lost, though we are able to build skyscrapers, but building a pyramid now is not possible. Such a collection of artefacts from Keezhadi can be showcases to the entire world.
2600 year old iron sword was found in the Konthagai village as part of the find. One discovery like this, would bring a host of questions and answers. The ability to make a sword, and make it durable enough for 2000 years, and they were warriors.
The skeleton was found buried between two terracotta urns that were also found on the same day. It was 75cm in height and was found 0.5m below surface level. A total of 15 urns have been discovered till date along with gold coins, shells and some pots.
Currently the excavation is taking in four places- Keezhadi, Konthagai, Manalur, Agaram which collectively includes an area of 122 acres.Currently seventh phase of excavation is going on, sixth phase was temporarily halted due to COVID during the months of March-2021.
It is being deduced that Konthagai is the burial site for the civilization of Keezhadi. The burial urns also contain a small sword, vessels and terracotta rings possibly indicating the everyday things buried together with the death of the person. The Tamil Nadu State archaeology department has tied up with Harvard and Madurai Kamarajar University for DNA testing. DNA testing laboratories should be established in nations which have a rich and deep past like India, China, Egypt and in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu where almost 90% of the pre-historic inscriptions have been found.
Almost five skeletal remains of children have been found from the site. The skulls, faces and teeth of the fourth and fifth child were all intact. There was also a skull of an infant which was fragile and got crushed during the excavation. There are two types of burial-Primary burial which refers to the body without any cremation. Secondary burial is when the remains of primary burial is exhumed and reburied in a burial urn.
Their primary area of habitation was Keezhadi, and their burial place happened to be Konthagai, leading us to conclude that they followed a structured lifestyle 2000 years ago.
