PERAMBALUR: A two-metre-long piece of fossilised wood was found in Karambiyam village in Perambalur village. The wood, which was attached to a limestone, was found in a canal of Ponneri lake in the village on Saturday. The villagers have urged the District Collector to preserve the fossilised wood in Sathanur museum.
The Geology Survey of India (GSI) said that the fossilised wood was a branch of a tree, and a small piece of the tree has been discovered. Many fossilised trees and marine life fossils have been found in and around Perambalur and Ariyalur, corroborating the claims that both the districts were once part of the sea bed.
The first piece of fossilised wood was discovered in 1940 at Santhanur taluk in Alathur taluk in Perambalur. The wood was said to be 12 crore years old. Since then several pieces of fossilised wood have been found in the surrounding villages. Thus, a museum was built in Sathanur nine years ago to preserve them.
Solai Periyasamy, a resident of Karambiyam, said, "It rained in our area a few weeks ago. This cleared dirt and we found this wood in the canal. Then we cleaned and preserved it. It is attached to the rock."
Ramesh Karuppaiya, an environmental activist, said, "We already found a one-metre-long fossilised wood around three months ago in the Sathanur village. We handed over it over to the fossil park in the village. Villages such as Karai, Kolakkanatham, Sathanur, Anaipadi and Karambiyam in Perambalur district were under the sea several million years ago. Most of the fossilised woods can be found in the Alathur area. But this is the first time that a two-metre-long wood has been found in the Kunnam taluk."
Ramesh further added that Karambiyam village is 12 km away from the Sathanur Fossil Park.
When contacted by The New Indian Express, a GSI official said, "We have been informed about it. Only after inspecting the site can we say anything about it."