ASI asks archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to rework his Keeladi excavation report

The Archaeological Survey of India has directed archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna to resubmit his report on the Keeladi excavations after making corrections suggested by two experts, The Hindu reported on Thursday.

Ramakrishna, who led the discovery of the Sangam-era site near Madurai, had submitted more than two years ago the 982-page report detailing the first two phases of the excavation.

Political debate about Keeladi

Keeladi has been at the centre of a political debate in recent years.

Ramakrishna, who led the two excavation phases at Keeladi between 2014 and 2016, had unearthed more than 5,500 artefacts pointing to an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam era. The Sangam era is the period between 3rd century before common era to the 3rd century common era in southern India.

In 2017, the Archaeological Survey of India transferred Ramakrishna to Assam. Political parties had described this move as “unusual” at the time, The New Indian Express reported.

The discovery had attracted widespread attention and Ramakrishna’s transfer was viewed as an attempt to downplay the excavation’s significance, according to The Hindu.

The government agency carried out the third phase of the excavation. But it announced in 2017 that no significant findings had emerged and halted the excavation.

The decision was criticised by politicians in Tamil Nadu, who accused the Union government of attempting to suppress evidence of an ancient Tamil civilisation,...

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