Weighing unit made of crystal quartz, snake figurine discovered in Keeladi

For the first time since excavations began in Keeladi in 2014, archaeologists on Tuesday discovered a weighing unit made of crystal quartz, which is transparent in nature, from the Sangam-Era site near Madurai, besides recovering an earthen-made snake figurine.

The weighing unit was found at a depth of 175 cm from a quadrant, in one of the significant discoveries in the ninth phase of excavations in Keeladi, 12 km southeast of Madurai, which began on April 6. Weighing just eight grams, the unit made of quartz is somewhat spherical in shape with the top and base of a sphere cut off and made flat and has smooth surface.

“This is the first time that we unearthed a weighing unit made of crystal quartz from Keeladi in the past nine years. We have found weighing units in the past, but all of them were made of stones,” an archaeological officer told DH. The officer added that since the unit was made of crystal quartz, it is believed that it might have been used to weigh “precious stones” that could have been at the habitation site.

Transparent in nature, the weighing unit measures 2 cm in diameter, 1.5 cm in height and 8 gm in weight. The officer further explained that the weighing unit discovered on Tuesday was distinctly different from ones that were found earlier.

“The previous ones were hemispherical in shape. But here, both the top and bottom are flat. This one stands out in terms of shape and material,” the officer added.

While sorting potteries found at the depth of 190 cm in a quadrant, a fragment of snake figurine made of terracotta was noticed and the eyes and mouth of the snake are intricately carved.

The handmade snake figurine, which has a red slip with a rough surface, 6.5 cm in length, 5.4 cm in width and 1.5 cm thickness. Both the weighing unit and the snake figurine were found in association with terracotta hopscotch, iron nail, black-and-red ware, and red slipped ware, the officer added.

Archaeologists have so far unearthed over 200 artefacts, including terracotta figurines, and a gold ring, from Keeladi during the ninth phase. A floor was also found in July in one of the trenches.

The archaeological excavations in Tamil Nadu have created a buzz in the past few years as they threw up surprises – artefacts unearthed in Keeladi near Madurai pushed the Sangam Era to 600 BCE from 300 BCE, rice husks found in a burial urn in Sivakalai was found to be 3,200 years old, and that Tamils were aware of iron technology in 2172 BCE, 4,200 years ago.

The carbon dating has pushed the Sangam Era by three hundred years that it was thought to be – the ASI, which conducted the first two phases of excavation, also derived the period of the Sangam-era archaeological site to be between 8th century BCE to 3rd century CE.

These findings come amidst repeated assertions by Chief Minister M K Stalin that his government will take every step to scientifically prove that India’s history will have to be rewritten from the Tamil landscape, in the light of findings in Keeladi and Sivakalai.