The 10th session of the archaeological excavation at Kodumanal ended on Thursday as the license period for the latest phase was till September 30. Official sources said that they were completely shutting down the excavation activities in the site.
Kodumanal excavation was started in 1985 and archaeological excavation was carried out at the site in 10 phases.
According to officials, the license for the excavation was taken for a period of one year and it was due till September 30. Official sources said the land would be returned to its owners. However, the decision to maintain it as an open site was to be taken by the state government.
Project Director J. Ranjit said more than two acres of land was excavated as part of the project and over 2,000 artifacts were excavated in the 10th phase alone. Throughout the study, more than 9,000 artifacts were excavated from the site. Mr. Ranjit said that he had engaged about 10 student scholars to complete the photo-documentation, writing and drawing tasks.
The excavations at Kodumanal revealed some aspects about the megalithic period and the early historical cultural period. Mentioned in the Sangam literature as Kodumanam, the village was an industrial and trade center about 2,300 years ago and they made iron, steel, bangles from shells and exquisite pearls.