Kerala - Kochi   

More time sought for exploration

K.S. Sudhi

Trial excavations at Pattanam have yielded potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscription

KOCHI: The State Archaeology Department has approached the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for renewal of licence for its archaeological explorations at Pattanam near Paravur.

Trial excavations by some archaeological researchers in the area had yielded potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscription. The researchers from the Centre for Heritage Studies, Hill Palace Museum, Thripunithura, had claimed that they found a potsherd which had five letters of Tamil Brahmi inscription and another one with a single letter of Vattezhuthu script in the area. The trial excavations, held in April 2004, had also yielded a Chera coin, a few glass and stone beads and amphora fragments.

The State Archaeology Department has approached the ASI for extension of the explorations, according to V. Manmadhan Nair, Director of the department.

Licence expired

A three-year licence granted by the ASI expired last month and a fresh application has been forwarded through the State Government. The department is hopeful of getting the licence renewed, Mr. Nair says.

The ASI authorities will meet this month to consider the application. They will give clearance after scrutinising the application, according to C. Babu Rajeev, Director-General of the ASI.

At least three applications from Kerala are likely to be considered by the ASI, including those concerning Pattanam, the artefacts of an ancient vessel at Thaikkal and the Edakkal rock caves.

Once clearance is obtained from the ASI, the State department will start explorations in the area in association with the ASI, Mr. Nair says.

The department will first conduct explorations in the Pattanam area. It will consider carrying out excavations in the area based on the outcome of the explorations, according to an official.

Controversy

The argument of some researchers that the ancient port town of Muzaris was at Pattanam has created a controversy in archaeology circles. It has also drawn protests from the Kodungalloor municipal authorities, who vehemently argue that Muzaris was in Kodungalloor.

The State archaeological authorities dismiss the new theory as an unwanted propaganda.

"Its totally baseless to claim that Muzaris was in Pattanam, " says Mr. Nair. It will require concrete evidence and written documents to prove the theory, he said.

According to some of the senior officials of the department, the Pattanam area could be a Roman settlement and not the location of Muzaris. Descriptions in some Roman travelogues have specifically located Muzaris and its position in relation to the Periyar river. There have also been some references about Muzaris in some Sangham literature, they say.

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