Sivagalai, wonder womb of Iron Age

CHENNAI: A series of exhaustive studies undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department have shot Sivagalai, a nondescript village near Srivaikundam on the outskirts of Thoothukudi, to the limelight, propounding it as the ‘birthplace’ of the Iron Age.

It all started at Mangadu in Mettur near Salem when an iron sword obtained from a cist burial site placed the calibrated age between 1604 and 1416 BC, kindling the interest in iron. It was the first time such an early date was arrived for the introduction of iron (Mangadu) in Tamil Nadu, though archaeologists were trying to hit gold (in the instant case of Iron) in Sivagalai, Adichanallur, Mayiladumparai and Kilnamandi sites simultaneously. Thus, the search for the introduction of iron in Tamil Nadu started.

The patience and perseverance of the archaeologists paid off when they unearthed a sarcophagus along with iron objects at Kilnamandi in Tiruvannamalai. The conventional date of the iron objects dates back to 1450 BCE, and the calibrated date fell between 1769 BCE and 1615 BCE, eventually pushing the date of iron a century earlier than Mangadu. The biggest revelation came from Mayiladumparai in Krishnagiri, where excavations have been conducted since 2021. Cultural items like microlithic tools, neolithic celts, neolithic tool polishing grooves, rock paintings and Iron Age graves were dug out. Also, Tamil Brahmi inscribed potsherds were unearthed.

However, re-excavation in Adichanallur, perhaps the oldest dig-site dating back to 1876 by F Jagor of Berlin and later by Alexander Rea in 1902-04, by ASI in 2004-05 and the state archaeology department in 2021-23 pushed the age of introduction of iron further backwards to 3rd millennium. A study of Charcoal samples from Adichanallur yielded a conventional date of 2060 BCE and calibrated dates of 2517 – 2513 BCE and 2613 BCE.

The so-far established notions of the Iron Age were shattered, and a seismic shift in the dating of the age of the introduction of iron in Tamil Nadu was discovered in Sivagalai, the new birthplace of the new Iron Age owing to the excavations undertaken in eight localities by the state archaeology department from 2019 – 22. In total 24 trenches and 63 quadrants were excavated in which 160 urns were exposed. The iron objects were placed both inside and outside of the urn. Inside, it was placed at the bottom of the urn. More than 85 iron objects consisting of knives, arrowheads, rings, chisels, axes and swords were collected at various levels from both inside and outside of the urn. Among the many urns, one (Trench A2-Urn-3) placed at the centre of the trench was intact with a lid and no soil percolating inside the urn. Skeletal remains, iron objects and paddy grains were collected from the urn placed at the bottom. The paddy sample collected from this urn (Urn-3 of Trench A2) was dated back to cal.1155 BCE.

Encouraged by this result, charcoal samples were also collected from trench A1 of the habitation mound called Valappalanpillaithiradu and samples collected from Trenches A2, C3 and B3 laid in the graveyard were sent for scientific examination. A total of five dates were received in the results. Of them, three dates that fell between 2953 BCE and 3345 BCE yielded iron objects, therefore leading to a tectonic shift in the introduction of iron in Tamil Nadu going back to the first quarter of the 4th millennium BCE.

Radiocarbon dating results reveal earliest iron age in Tamil Nadu

February 22, 2021 – Report of the radiocarbon dating analyses by BETA Analytics Lab in Florida, USA

The charcoal sample submitted on February 2, 2021

Skeletal remains, iron objects and paddy grains were collected from the urn placed at the bottom in Sivagalai.

The paddy sample collected from an Urn-3 of Trench A2 was dated back to 1155 BCE.

Three other dates falling between 2953 BCE and 3345 BCE yielded iron objects, suggesting the introduction of iron in Tamil Nadu goes back to the first quarter of the 4th millennium BCE.

Production of iron metal from Iron ore only started in the mid-second millennium BCE though there are claims of early dates.

In Anatolia and Caucasus, the Iron Age began during the late 2nd millennium BCE (c. 1300 BCE).

In the Ancient Near East, this transition occurred roughly around the 12th century BCE (1200–1100 BC).

The dates of c.900 BCE, c. 800 BCE, c. 600 BCE and c.500 BCE are considered the beginning of the Iron Age respectively in China, Central and Western Europe, Northern Europe and Northern Scandinavian Europe.

The date of the introduction of iron in India moved from 1100 BCE down to the 2nd millennium BCE over time due to the efforts of various scholars.

When cultural zones located north of Vindhyas experienced the Copper Age, the region south of Vindhyas might have entered into the Iron Age due to the limited availability of commercially exploitable copper ore.

Thus, the Copper Age of North India and the Iron Age of South India are probably contemporary.