Recapping the Archaeological Excavations at Korkai: An Important Port City of the Sangam Pandyas

Abstract

South India has a long history and rich cultural heritage, yet till the arrival of the Britishers in South India, the people have no idea about the glory of their past and the achievements of their predecessors. After the coming of the Britishers, they realized the glorious past of the South Indians and through archaeological excavations they started to bring the hidden past to light. For instance, the first archaeological excavation was held at Pallavaram near Chennai by a British Geologist named Robert Bruce Foote in 1863. It confirmed the existence of the Palaeolithic settlements in South India. Similar excavations were conducted at Korkai, Adichanallur and Arikkamedu. It revealed the trade contact of the ancient Tamils with the foreign countries and so it added more glory to South India among the countries across the world. Following that, innumerable excavations were conducted in South India far and wide. After India’s Independence, through the Archaeological Survey of India, the government undertook many excavations in order to bring back the buried antiquity of South India. This article entitled “Recapping the Archaeological Excavations at Korkai: An Important Port City of the Sangam Pandyas”, is going to remind the great antiquity of South India to the current generation.