Date:25/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/07/25/stories/2005072509330300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Plan to excavate paleolithic site in Tiruvallur

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: The State Archaeological Department has planned to excavate a paleolithic site identified at Parikulam in Tiruvallur district and a historical site identified at Marakanam in Cuddalore district this year, according to T.S. Sridhar, Special Commissioner.

Presiding over a function organised to release a book titled Tamizhaga Cheppedugal published by the department here on Friday, he said the department had identified 27 such excavation sites all over the State and that some sites had already been excavated, including those at Kovalanpottal in Madurai district, Modhur in Dharmapuri and Andipatti in Tiruvannamalai.

The department has also established museums near the sites where the excavated antiquities were displayed, he said.

The department has identified 88 monuments in the State including Thirumalai Naick Mahal, Thanjavur Palace, Ramanathapuram Palace, and Tranquebar Fort, besides temples, said the Special Commissioner.

In an attempt to protect these monuments, the department has renovated some of them using Rs.5 crores, spent over three years, under the 11th Finance Commission recommendations and made arrangements to prepare projects for the next phase of renovation, he said.

The reading of ancient inscriptions was on in full swing, he said. Epigraphists have finished reading and interpreting more than 6,000 inscriptions and the work will be completed in another two years, he added. The department will publish all the details in a book for the benefit of research scholars and students. Arrangements have been made to register the antiquities, which were more than 100 years old. Even private properties could be registered, he said.