A portion of a circular brick structure has been unearthed by archaeologists at Porpanaikottai, a Sangam-age site, in Pudukottai district.
According to T. Thangadurai, excavation director, the structure was contiguous to a three-course brick structure, exposed in the A1 trench within a few days after the Archaeology Department commenced digging at the site on May 20. A Sangam-age fort is believed to have existed here.
“The brick structure was found at a depth of 3.8 centimetres in Za1 trench. Its diameter is 230 centimetres. We have exposed portions of a couple of water channels built with bricks. A couple of brick structures have been found at a depth of 32 centimetres in the adjacent trench (Za2), too. One of them runs to a length of 200 centimetres,” Mr. Thangadurai said. However, it would require more digging to assess the nature and purpose of the structures, he added.
Over 355 antiques, including a gold nose stud, hopscotch, spouts, pieces of glass bangles and beads, green stones, a terracotta lamp, a coin, a spindle whorl and a rubbing stone, besides 11 graffiti, have been found at the site so far.
Potsherds, comprising glazed ware, blackware, black and red ware, roof tiles, perforated ware and three pieces of rouletted ware, a distinctive type of decorated pottery, have also been found. “One of the three pieces is hopscotch. A hopscotch made of rouletted ware is a rare and important find,” he said.
Porpanaikottai, situated about 6.5 km to the east of Pudukottai town, is one of the new sites where the Archaeology Department took up excavation this year after studies carried out using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), a remote sensing method, indicated that a fort had existed there. A habitation mound, spread over 1.26 hectares, is believed to have existed within the fort and excavations have been taken up in this area. Fourteen trenches have been dug so far. Significantly, all the trenches have been dug in private properties owned by six individuals in the village — Rengasamy, Marimuthu, Sundararajan, Nagar, Karuppiah and Palaniappan.
