Iron Age graveyard unearthed

Dindigul (TN), Jun 22 (PTI) A glass bead-making unit and
an Iron Age graveyard, both about 2,500 years old, have been
unearthed during the ongoing excavation in and around
Porunthal in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, an archaeology
expert said.

The excavation made at Paasi Medu (bead mound) venue, a
site spread over 5.5 hectares on the ancient East-West Trade
route linking Tamil Nadu and Kerala, revealed presence of a
glass bead manufacturing unit, Prof K Rajan, Archaeology
Department, University of Pondicherry, told reporters at
Palani near here Sunday.

They also recovered thousands of beads in various colours
including red, white, black, yellow, maroon and green from the
site along with 30 identical redware bowls, triangular
terracotta pieces and two furnaces.

This could have been the place where glass beads had been
manufactured in ancient Tamil Nadu, he said.

"We feel that this place might have been a glass bead
manufacturing factory. It should be around 2,500 years old,"
said former archaeology professor Shanmugam.

The 'Indo-Pacific' beads could have been exported through
Musiripattinam in Thrissur district of Kerala. The glass unit
was the first such found in India, Rajan said.

"We recovered only slightly damaged beads," he said. The
study of the site revealed Porunthal had been a trade centre.

A statue of a bull was yet another finding. A first
Century AD Terracotta figurine of a male had also been
unearthed besides ivory dice, earrings and copper coin.

The team doing research at the site included students and
professors from Puducherry University, Tamil University,
Mangalore University and Srivenkateswara University.

They found several iron age burials at the foothills of
the Westerghats near Chinna Gandhipuram. The graves found at
the site had been fenced by boulders.

Archaeology officials said these cist burials were of
simple nature. A burial with 12.5-metre-diametre revealed the
rich culture of the people of the area. There were two decks
and two port holes in the bicameral cist. About 3,000 beads of
semi-precious stones were also recovered around the skeletal
remains.

The findings suggest that people could have performed some
ritual for the dead, they said.

From near the burials, mud pots of red, black and shining
black were also found. PTI Cor/SSN
SCY