A defiant archaeologist who led the excavation at the ancient site of Keezhadi near Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu has stood by his report, refusing to rewrite it as directed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ASI had raised doubts about the dating of the artefacts, which suggest that the antiquity of Tamil script and urban culture could date back to the 8th to 5th century BCE.

It was Amarnath Ramakrishna who had led the excavation at Keezhadi which revealed a well-developed urban culture and script. His report, submitted on January 2023, was based on the results obtained from tests through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The Tamil Nadu government had published the findings in a book under the title – “Keezhadi: Lap of Mother Tamil”.

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However, following suggestions by two experts, the ASI Director (Exploration) Hemasagar A Naik has asked Ramakrishna to revise his report by incorporating necessary corrections to proceed further. The chronological periods in the report on the excavated objects, according to Naik, require proper nomenclature and re-orientation. Further, the time bracket for period I of the three time segments (BCE 8th to 5th century) demands more justification.

In his response to Naik, the archeologist has stood firm on his report saying, “The view expressed by you regarding further examination of the sequence is against the well-reasoned and conclusive findings of the excavation at the site.”

In his letter to the ASI, Ramakrishna clarified that he had already accepted the suggested changes in nomenclature and had communicated the same on April 10, 2023. “The Chronology of the Keezhadi excavation has been evaluated in accordance with standard archaeological procedures. The periodization of the site was reconstructed based on stratigraphic sequences, cultural deposits, material culture, and AMS dating obtained during the excavation,” read the letter.

The ASI is asking for resubmission more than two-and-a-half years later.

Explaining further, Ramakrishna said that the final conclusions about the dating, as determined by the excavation, were based on detailed findings and supported by meticulous documentation. Further, the chronological sequence has been presented in the original report, he pointed out. On the ASI request for layer numbers to be marked for comparative consistency analysis, he said this would be done if any such data was to be missing.

All relevant maps, plates and drawings have been provided in high-resolution formats both in soft and digital copies to the ASI and hence there is no possibility of anything missing, Ramakrishna made it clear in his response. He, however, added that if anything is found missing, it could be corrected.

Neither the ASI nor the Union government has reacted to the other major finding of iron in Tamil Nadu, making the ancient Tamil country to first use iron in 5000 years ago. The findings at Mayiladumparai and in Sivagalai had been published by the TN Government.