Chennai, Mar 6: The much-awaited onsite museum at Keezhadi in the southern Sivaganga district, which gained global popularity by taking great pride in the ancient Tamil civilisation, was dedicated to the public. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the state-of-the-art museum, established by the Archaeology Department at Keezhadi last evening.
The museum is a testimony to the regal life lived by ancient Tamils during the Sangam Age. The museum with adequate infrastructure facility has been ilt on a sprawling two acre area at a cost of Rs 18.43 crore. The museum was adorned with over 15,000 unique artefacts un-earthed
between the 4th and 8th phases of excavations by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology since 2018. The excavations underscored the fact that an urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu since the Sangam Age, contemporary to the urban life recorded in the Gangetic plains.
The Chief Minister said the museum is a fitting tribute to our ancient Tamils, their workmanship and life. The Chief Minister was also keen on making the museum more accessible to school and college students by strengthening the educational aspect of it.
The museum housed six galleries titled ‘Maduraiyum Keezhadiyum’, ‘Agriculture and Water Management’, ‘Kalam Seikho’, ‘Aadayum Anikalankalum’, ‘Maritime Trade’ and ‘Vaazhviyal’, sources said. The spacious and bright air-conditioned museum offers a relaxing environment for visitors to explore the history and richness of artefacts exhibited, an official release said.
It is also equipped with a touchscreen display for the visitors to have a glimpse of artefacts regarding the Vaigai valley civilisation. With all these facilities, the museum was incorporated into a virtual reality exhibition, much to the delight of onlookers. To showcase the Tamil civilisation, which existed several years ago,and its ancient culture, five phases of excavations have been carried out at the archaeological site of Keezhadi since 2018.
During those excavations, over thousand markings were recorded and more than 60 potsherds and other historically significant objects that were identified as a trademark of the ancient civilisation were unearthed. The museum also features a display of a replica of a cargo ship recalling the ‘Sangam era’ of maritime trade and earthenware and pottery were also exhibited in various dimensions. Adding to this, ancient coins that were unearthed were also displayed.
