In early 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of Rs 3150 crore in the Union Budget to the Ministry of Culture. This funding aimed to develop five archaeological sites which were designated as the ‘iconic’ sites. The plan was to build world-class site museums and infrastructure around the sites to promote tourism and cultural awareness. The five sites were the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dholavira, Ahom monuments in Sivasagar, the multi-cultural of Hastinapur, Rakhigarhi, one of the largest Harappan cities, and Adichanallur a significant Iron-Age burial site located in Tamil Nadu.
Each site represents a significant era in the history of India. But there is a clear winner in terms of popularity. Rakhigarhi, a Harappan metropolis situated in Haryana has acquired maximum space in the newspapers and is certainly the most talked about archaeological site.
The site that’s not gotten the limelight it deserves is Adichanallur. Situated in southern Tamil Nadu, it’s one of the largest and most well-preserved urn-burial sites of the Iron Age. This site represents a practice, which although ancient, has continued till the 12th century CE. It has been grabbing the attention of scholars and archaeologists for nearly 140 years and deserves the attention of the general public as well.
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From discovery to protection
Situated on the southern bank of the Thamirabarani River in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, Adichanallur was discovered by F Jagor in 1876. He conducted haphazard excavations and retained many artefacts including pottery, copper and iron objects, which he later donated to the Berlin Museum. His actions alerted the government to the rich unknown cultural history of the region, which eventually prompted archaeologist Alexander Rea of the Archaeological Survey of India to survey the site, document the remains and excavate it between 1889 and 1905.
In contrast to Jagor’s endeavours, Rea aimed to conduct a systematic and comprehensive exploration. His work involved thorough documentation and analysis of the remains found at the site, which included a vast array of pottery, tools and urn burials. During his investigations, Rea identified that the urn-burials are a significant characteristic feature of Adichanallur. He documented that the skeletal remains were often placed in crouched positions within the pottery vessels accompanied by grave goods. This methodology revealed insight into the social structures and cultural beliefs of the site’s inhabitants.
Rea discovered about 5,000 artefacts including many iron implements and weapons, ornaments in bronze and gold, stone beads, lamp stands, hanging lamps, bronze figurines of buffaloes, sheep, goats, antelopes, elephants, etc. But the most important of his discoveries were gold diadems found in well-preserved burials. They were either oval in shape or an elongated strip—plain in design or with dots or lines engraved on them. What is fascinating is that in the more recent excavations conducted in 2004 and 2005, no gold diadem was found. It makes these findings even more precious. Besides his work on burials, Rea also pointed to the possibility of a habitation area, which was traced in subsequent excavations.
Rea’s extensive exploration of the Thamirabarani River valley led to the identification of 38 sites. He suggested that Adichanallur might have been a trade hub and centre of pearl fishery, potentially leading to the establishment of Korkai as a seaport. His extensive work led to the protection of 114 acres of land in 1921.
After Rea, the site was briefly studied by JR Henderson in 1915 and then extensively excavated again by ASI’s Sathyabama Badrinath between 2003 and 2005. The Archaeological Survey of India along with the State Department of Archaeology excavated the site again from 2019 to 2022.
This type of urn burial is typical in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Karnataka. The one in the Thamirabarani valley is by far the best preserved. The burials are associated with the Iron Age/Megalithic Culture.
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Urn burials of Adichanallur
The subcontinent has a long history of diverse burial practices dating back to prehistoric times. Adichchnallur’s urn burial involved placing the deceased skeletal remains in a pottery vessel and burying it in a man-made pit. Scholars suggest that the urns were used to protect the deceased from scavengers. It was based on the belief that the dead would use the same body in their afterlife.
Red murram or fractured quartz were the natural formations in the region and the burial pits were cut into them. In a few cases, the pit was dug deep and an urn was placed at the bottom and the top half was filled with murram. Excavations revealed urns with either full, fragmentary or no bones but with grave goods (items buried along with the body). In the case of a complete skeleton, it was often placed in a crouched position. In some instances, double burials—with the remains of two individuals—were also found.
Urns are also in a variety of shapes and are mostly in Red Ware or Black and Red Ware. A few have surface decorations and are closed with a lid. These features of urn burials are typical of the southern Indian Iron Age and especially of Tamil Nadu’s cultural fabric as they continued till the 12th century CE.
The later excavations also revealed a habitation area with two pottery kilns, a bead manufacturing workshop, a plethora of pottery which was different from the burial pottery and a large number of iron objects. Multiple analyses done by archaeo-botanists, metallurgists, anthropologists and experts have illuminated the rich past of Adichanallur. Interestingly, a study published in 2010 suggested that this prehistoric site is one of the ‘longest open-cast mines of ancient times’. This makes the site not only a trade hub and a pearl fishery centre but also a mining centre. It provides an explanation for the elaborate burial practice at the site which is dated to c.850 to 650 BCE.
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Iconic site? Not yet
When Nirmala Sitharaman visited Adichanallur in 2021 and laid the foundation of a new site museum, it felt like a departure from the north-centric or rather Harappan-centric focus of the government. But a recent PIL was filed in the Madras High Court regarding the renovation of the existing site museum and the progress of the new site museum begs us to question the delay. The Madras High Court on 12 July asked authorities to report the reasoning behind the delay and propose a plan of action for a new site museum.
The status of the work is still unknown. What is evident is that there is no site museum, despite heavy government funding and support. However, the buck does not stop at museums, the stakeholders and authorities must make this site a tourism hub and popularise its significance. This will help in attaining the ‘iconic’ status.
Disha Ahluwalia is an archaeologist and junior research fellow at the Indian Council Of Historical Research. Views are personal. She tweets @ahluwaliadisha.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)