Throwing new light on Tamil Nadu’s possible connection and continuity with the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), archaeological excavations at Keezhadi, on the periphery of Madurai, have yielded artefacts dating back to 580 BCE, some with graffiti marks similar to those that are believed to have evolved from the Indus script.

The findings of the fourth phase of excavations at Keezhadi, a sleepy village close to the Vaigai riverbed, released in a report on Thursday has the potential to alter the history of South India.

It also gives substance to a theory voiced by scholars and politicians in the state that Tamils may have descended from the Indus Valley civilisation, as it declined and its people moved South. 

The findings are also significant in that they provide material evidence to the Sangam period of Tamil literature, considered the golden era of Tamils. It further pushes the age of the Sangam period back to around 600 BCE, while it was previously considered to be between 200 BCE and 400 BCE. Further, of the more than 15,000 artefacts found on the site to date, none is of a religious nature, indicating that the civilisation at Keezhadi had no interaction with Vedic culture.

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