TN: Sitharaman lays foundation stone for Adichanallur archaeological museum

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (August 5) laid the foundation stone for an archaeological museum at Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district.

Adichanallur is one of the five archaeological sites to be developed as ‘Iconic Sites’ according to the Union Budget 2020-21. It is located on the banks of river Tamirabarani.

The museum will house excavated artefacts and also show the archaeological importance of the site and the history of the region.

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“The main objective of the museum would be to focus on establishing the significance of the archaeological sites identified as part of the cultural landscape of the Tamirabharani valley, not limiting to the site of Adichanallur,” the minister’s office tweeted.

“The museum will be built as a tribute to the history of Iron Age culture in southern India, in the context of Adichanallur.”

Sitharaman was accompanied to the area by Tuticorin MP and DMK leader Kanimozhi.

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Fresh exploration

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken up fresh exploration and excavation of the archaeological remains.

The extensive urn burial site at Adichanallur was first discovered by Dr Jagor of Berlin Museum in 1876. Englishman Alexander Rea excavated a good number of urns in the 1910s.

He found gold diadems with parallels from Mycenae (in Greece), bronze objects, notably lids with exquisite finials depicting many animal forms, iron objects besides thousands of potsherds, Sitharaman’s office said.

The excavation was resumed during 2003-04 and 2004-05.

“Carbon dating of samples excavated in 2004 from the Adichanallur site has revealed that they belong to the period between 1000 BC and 600 BC. In 2005, 169 clay urns containing human skeletons were unearthed that date back to at least 3,800 years. The archaeological excavation at Adichanallur again commenced on October 10, 2021 as part of Iconic Site development,” it added.

Tmt @nsitharaman lays foundation stone of the ‘Iconic Site Museum’ to be built at the Adichanallur archaeological site located on the bank of Tamirabarani (Porunai) river in Thoothukudi District of Tamil Nadu.

Also present on the occasion are DG @ASIGoI and Collector of… pic.twitter.com/cJgeSUJBPk

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 5, 2023

(With agency inputs)