Keeladi excavation site is a Sangam period settlement that is being excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department.
This excavation site is located 12km southeast of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, near the town of Keeladi (also spelt as Keezhadi) in Sivagangai district. This is a large-scale excavation carried out in Tamil Nadu after the Adichanallur archaeological site. The settlement lies on the bank of the Vaigai River and it reflects the ancient culture of Tamils.
In the trenches and from that earth are emerging discoveries that suggest something quite special was going on here thousands of years ago.
Let us begin with the pottery – because that’s where it starts.
(L) The excavation at Keeladi; (R) Potsherds — the first signs of an ancient settlement
Some were all red, but many were black on one side, and red on the other – indicating Black and Red ware – a type of pottery in vogue more than 2,500 years ago, during the Sangam age. These small potsherds were the first outwards signs that gave a clue that something serious existed beneath the surface. The dig began in earnest in 2014 by the Archaeological Society of India.
One piece of sculpture — an old woman’s head — shows loving attention to a somewhat incongruous detail. What makes the sculpture so special are the sagging cheeks of the woman, beautifully and realistically rendered.
Masters of water
Water-management infrastructure predominated in the finds.
Until now, at least three kinds of channels have been discovered: one was a shallow, broad channel — about half a metre across, a few inches in height and about 6 metres thus far excavated in length — lined with shards of broken terracotta roof tiles.
(L) Shallow channel; (R) Terracotta pipe
Nearby there was a beautifully crafted terracotta pipe which appeared to feed into a strategically placed pot, which in turn was placed on top of another pot.
This channel ran close to a small, square, brick-lined tank at the site.
(L) Closed channel, Keeladi; (R) Brick-lined tank.
One interesting find was the ring wells, several of which were found at the site. Essentially, these wells used terracotta rings inside a shaft to prevent the collapse of the sides. These ringwells could have been used as either draw wells or soak pits, and were widely found across in India in the 4th-5th centuries BCE. Ring wells as draw wells are a clever idea when water was available close below the surface — in this case, about 5-10 feet below the surface. One explanation for water at such shallow depths is that the river Vaigai ran far closer to Keeladi 2,500 years ago.
(L) Ring well, Keeladi; (R) Shell Sediment Layer.
There were also collections of pebbles — smooth, polished stones that were likely created by constantly running water. no
Far more evidence is required before drawing a conclusion, which bring us back to ‘dig more’.
But one thing is for sure: Both the Indus Valley residents and the Keeladians were masters at water management. Moving to the present, water is the foundation of our prosperity as it was for the Keeladians.
We use it in our factories today, much like they did, even as we discover the power of recycling it. We use wells like their ringwells — deeper and more powerful, to be sure, but ours are reaching their limits and coming up dry, like theirs did before they perished.
Today, as the peripheries of our cities experience a seasonal ‘Day Zero’ and our water future looks to become decidedly more temperamental, the Keeladi site almost serves as a ‘Back to the Future’ moment for our cities: Manage and cherish your water or perish.
