Evidence of Sangam era settlements found near Villupuram

Antiquities of the Sangam period have been found at two settlements on the banks of the Pambai river at Ayyankoyilpattu and Thennamadevi-Anaimedu, near Villupuram. | Photo Credit: Special Editing

A team of students and faculty of Arignar Anna Government Arts College and researchers found archaeological evidence of settlements dating back to the Sangam period on the banks of the Pambai river at Ayyankoyilpattu and Thennamadevi-Anaimedu near Villupuram.

“A collection of widespread antiques such as spindle whorls, players, ear ornaments, spouts, lid knobs, besides precious stone beads such as carnelian, banded agate, paste (glass) of various colors and shapes, copper coin with The medieval Chola period has provided enough evidence to show that the settlement during the Sangam period existed on the banks of the river,” said D. Ramesh, Assistant Professor of History, Arignar Anna Government Arts College.

Antiquities of the Sangam period found on the banks of the Pambai river, near Villupuram. | Photo Credit: Special Editing

The evidence came when Sathish Kumar and Veeravel, first year students of the Department of History discovered ancient artifacts during a visit and informed Associate Professor D. Ranganathan, Mr. Ramesh and archaeologist M. Cheran.

The cultural mound at Thennamadevi-Anaimedu reaches a height of 500 to 600 meters covering an area of ​​10 hectares while the mound at Ayyankoyilpattu covers an area of ​​more than 15 hectares.

Artifacts including black and red ware, smooth red ware and red ware have been found on the northern bank of the Pambai river. The settlement appeared after recent floods under the influence of Cyclone Fengal which washed away the top deposit of the cultural mound.

“The cultural accumulations that have been uncovered strongly suggest ancient artifacts from the Sangam period. Antiquities from both sites included barrel-shaped carnelian beads, molded quartz beads, apart from a copper coin with a tiger and two fish symbols of King Uttama Chola,” said Mr. Ramesh.

In addition, the team also found agate beads, bonded agate and glass (paste) of various sizes, colors and shapes were also found. The finds also included a broken part of the front view of a female statue, spindle whorls, players, ear ornaments, hopscotches, beads and symbols.

The eroded surface revealed a variety of black and medium to hard red material, dark and very fine fabric, smooth red, red material except for parts of storage jars and vessels, one complete fragment of a small well-polished celt-like chisel (a neolithic tool) and a broken fragment of a double-polished stone ax .

“From the above findings, it is not possible that the part of the mound found in Thennamadevi-Anaimedu can be considered as a potential cultural mound with material remains closely related to the ancient historical deposit. In 1987, the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Madras, conducted excavations at Thiruvamathur, which is close to the surveyed sites of Thennamadevi-Anaimedu and Ayyankoyilpattu. The latest findings show the continuity of settlements in various parts of the Pambai river with respect to the early historical period,” said Mr. Ramesh.