Porunai museum in Tirunelveli soon: CM

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday announced setting up of the Porunai archaeological museum in the Tirunelveli district for Rs 15 crore.

Making a Statement Under Rule 110 in the Assembly, he said the State Archaeology department has undertaken excavations in different parts including at Keeladi, Adhichanallur, Sivakalai, Korkai, Kodumanal, Mayiladumparai and Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the carbon dating results from some of the works including the ‘Neolithic Project’ and ‘Documentation of Rock Art sites’, show outstanding results, Stalin said.

“The lab results have established that the Tamirabarani civilization (Tirunelveli) is 3,200 years old and the State is taking steps to prove that the history of the Indian sub-continent should begin from the Tamil landscape,” the CM said, adding, studies would also be conducted in SE Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, to outline the reign of the Chola King Rajendra.

“The Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory in Miami, on August 27, released the test report and results are quite a revelation to the archaeological community. Rice along with husk found in offering pots within the urn at Sivakalai yielded the date 1,155 BCE,” the CM said.

Stalin added archaeological excavations would be carried out in other States and countries in search of Tamil roots. In the first phase, studies would be undertaken at the ancient port of Muziris, now known as Pattanam in Kerala. Similar studies will be held at Vengi in Andhra Pradesh, Thalaikadu in Karnataka and Palurin in Odisha. The CM said research would be held in Quseir al-Qadim and Pernica Anekke in Egypt, as well as in Khor Rori in Oman, to establish Tamils’ trade relations with these countries. “Pot shreds with Tamizhi scripts have been found in those countries, ” the CM’s statement added.

The 3,200-year-old Porunai Civilisation is a reference to the cultural value of Indian sub-continent and there are references about the Porunai river in ancient Tamil literary works Thirvaaimozhi and Purananoor. The inscriptions of Rajendra Cholan and Raja Raja Cholan also speaks about the Porunai culverts, Minister for Tamil Development and Archeology Thangam Thennarasu told reporters here on Thursday. Tamirabharanai was called as Pournai River during the ancient times and the civilisational background of our country will have references from southern Tamil Nadu, the Minister added.