Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Excavation of Eraniyan Kudiyiruppu site begins

deep study: Minister for Education Thangam Thennarasu (fourth from left) inspecting the stone idols at Rajakkamangalam near Valliyoor on Thursday.

TIRUNELVELI: The systematic excavation of Eraniyan Kudiyiruppu on the banks of the Nambiyar river at Rajakkalmangalam near Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district commenced on Thursday.

During the course of informal exploration at Eraniyan Kudiyiruppu, a good number of sculptures from a dilapidated temple belonging to early Pandya period were collected. Some of the sculptures were found with ‘grantha' script.

The invaluable yield of archaeological evidence throws light on the possible existence of a buried temple belonging to early Pandya period (8th to 9th century). The antiquities collected from this spot, particularly sculptures, are now on display for public view at Thirumalai Naicker Mahal Museum, Madurai.

Inaugurating the excavation, Minister for School Education and Archaeology Thangam Thennarasu said that the exercise would be completed within 2 to 3 months and the government had allotted Rs. 2 lakh for the purpose.

The ‘Nambiyar Civilization' should be explored completely, District Collector M. Jayaraman noted.

Minister for Environment, Youth Welfare and Sports T.P.M. Maideen Khan; Principal Secretary and Commissioner, Department of Archaeology, T.S. Sridhar; Tirunelveli MP S.S. Ramasubbu and Radhapuram MLA M. Appavu spoke.

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