The pipeline's discovery comes as part of the 10th archaeological excavation at Keeladi.
Tamil Nadu State Department of ArchaeologyAn aerial view of the Keeladi site in India.
In southern India, ongoing excavations have unearthed a trove of ancient discoveries at the Keeladi archaeological site. Most recently, the 10th phase of excavations revealed the presence of a 6th-century B.C.E. terracotta pipeline.
During previous archaeological work, researchers also came across an open drain, a closed channel, and a series of small tanks in Keeladi — indicating the presence of a water management system dating back 2,600 years.
An Ancient Water Management System Found In Keeladi
Per a report from The Hindustan Times, officials said the most recent finding relating to this ancient water system is a cylindrical structure that may have once been used to carry fresh water. In total, archaeologists have found six such structures, all of which make a singular, long pipeline. Each cylinder is roughly 14 inches in length and seven inches wide.
“The six cylindrical structures are neatly fitted together. The entire pipeline is at a length of about 174 cm,” a representative for the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology said. “This has been fully unearthed now. This pipeline continues to the adjacent trench. This could have been used for carrying protected water.”
Keeladi was first discovered in 2014 by K Amarnath Ramakrishna of the Archaeological Survey of India. It is located roughly seven miles southeast of Madurai, and it is now one of the area’s top tourist destinations. Over the past decade, more than 20,000 artifacts and antiquities have been recovered from the site.
Believed to be at least 2,600 years old, Keeladi has shown archaeologists just how advanced its ancient inhabitants were. The evidence of this pipeline only further solidifies that.
“This shows that the inhabitants of Keeladi practiced effective water management skills. We will know more about their practices once we get to know what is there in the other trench,” an archaeological officer told the Deccan Herald.
Researchers say excavations at Keeladi and similar sites are an effort to “scientifically prove” that the history of India should be rewritten from the Tamil landscape.
Uncover The Latest History News On All That's Interesting
- Archaeologists Uncover 'Ghost Population' Of Previously-Unknown Human Ancestor
- Divers Find 27,000-Year-Old Fossils Of 13-Foot Sloth In Belizean Sinkhole
- 10-Year-Old Boy Discovers An 18th-Century Sword With A Metal Detector He Just Got For His Birthday
- Early Humans Used 2-Million-Year-Old Stone Balls To Get To Bone Marrow, New Study Finds
- This Ancient Human Brain Remained Almost Perfectly Intact For 2,600 Years — And Experts Might Finally Know Why
Archaeological Excavations Seek To Rewrite India’s History
Various analyses of artifacts from Keeladi have shown that Tamil society operated a thriving industrialized settlement 2,600 years ago, pushing the origins of the Tamil script by hundreds of years to the 7th century B.C.E.
“Archaeologists have established that an urban civilization existed on the banks of River Vaigai through shreds of evidence of habitat, coexistence of different populations, literacy, brickmaking, various industries like beads, and terracotta, and efficient water management,” one official said.
Artifacts unearthed from Keeladi have pushed the Sangam era from 300 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E. Further evidence has shown that the Tamils were aware of iron technology as far back as 2172 B.C.E., 4,200 years ago.
These discoveries have been chronicled by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDSA), with Indian Chief Minister M K Stalin echoing the sentiment that India’s history should be rewritten from the Tamil landscape.
After reading about this fascinating discovery in India, read about the brutal death of Mahatma Gandhi. Or, learn about Dashrath Manjhi, the man who spent 22 years carving a road through a deadly mountain.
