CHENNAI: An analysis of samples collected during an excavation at Keezhadi revealed that they date back to more than 2,000 years, according to Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma.
In a written reply to DMK MP Kanimozhi, the minister said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had sent two carbon samples, but not artefacts, for carbon dating to Beta Analytic Inc., the front-runner for carbon dating, in Florida, USA. “Radiocarbon dating suggests that these samples are 2,160 and 2,200 years old,” said Sharma.
Kanimozhi had asked whether the Union government sent the artefacts unearthed in Keezhadi for carbon dating, and if so, what the reports revealed. The ASI has completed two seasons of excavation at Keezhadi, in Sivagangai district, near Madurai, and the third season is on now. The findings revealed the existence of an urban civilisation during the Sangam period in Tamil Nadu.