In news– Recently, an excavation by archaeologists showed that the Thamirabarani River (Porunai) civilization dates back to 3,200 years.
Key findings-
- A carbon dating analysis of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, by the Miami-based Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory has yielded the date of 1155 BC.
- It has indicated that the Thamirabarani civilization dates back to 3,200 years.
- It is found that the Thamirabarani civilization is older than the Vaigai civilization which is believed to be 2,600 years old.
- It is 600 years older than the samples found in Keeladi in Sivaganga district where ongoing excavation has been throwing up exciting findings.
Plan for excavations by the state government in other sites-
- To establish the ancientness of Chera country and culture, the state government will conduct excavations at Chera era port city Musiri (now Pattanam) in Kerala.
- The studies will be conducted at Vengi in Andhra Pradesh, Talakadu in Karnataka and Palur in Odisha and in Keeladi.
- The state archaeological department would conduct research in Quseir al-Qadim in Egypt, which was once part of the Roman empire as well as in Khor Rori in Oman, to establish Tamils’ trade relations with these countries.
- The government would also conduct similar studies in south east Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam (conquered by Tamil king Rajendra Chola).
Thamirabarani river-
- The shortest river in the state of Tamil Nadu, the Thamirabarani starts in Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats in the Ambasamudram taluk.
- It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts and empties at Korkai (Tirunelveli district) into the Gulf of Mannar (Bay of Bengal).
- It was called the Tamraparni River in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka.
- The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai.
It is about 128 kilometres (80 mi) long & is the only perennial river in Tamil Nadu.
Source: The Hindu
