Archaeologists find 2,600-year-old terracotta pipeline in Keeladi

CHENNAI: Archaeologists from the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) recently unearthed a terracotta pipeline in the ongoing 10th phase of the excavation in Keeladi, a Sangam era site, in yet another evidence of the effective water management practices followed by those who inhabited the settlement at least 2,600 years ago.

According to the officials from the TNSDA, a pipeline in a cylindrical shape in an aligned manner was unearthed during the ongoing 10th phase of excavation in Keeladi.

“An underground excavation pit revealed a cylindrical piped drainage in limestone. This earthen drain consists of six casings, neatly fitted together. The length and breadth of a flint casing are 36 cm and 18 cm, respectively,” a senior official from TNSDA told DT Next.

“The currently exposed drain has a length of about 174 cm. A continuation of this drainage tube extends into the next cavity. Work will continue to explore the next borehole to determine the continuity, length and utility of the borehole drainage,” the official noted.

The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) established that the Tamil society was literate as early as the 6th Century through carbon-dating analysis of artefacts found in the Sangam-era site.

Artefacts unearthed in Keeladi pushed the Sangam Era to 600 BCE from 300 BCE.