The Iron Age burial site at Engandiyur was one of the first sites to be excavated by the Department after the law on the preservation of ancient monuments came into force. The site south of Chettuva yielded burial urns, red terracotta pots, and black and red pottery. Some of the relics are on view at the Sakthan Thampuran Archaeological Museum.
The area around Kodungallur, which was excavated by Anujan Achan in 1945, was again excavated in 1969–70. Exploratory digging was conducted at Cheramanparamba, Thrikkulasekharapuram, Balaganeswaram, Mathilakam and Karuppadanna jointly with the ASI’s southern circle. Celebrated archaeologist Dr. K.V. Raman led the operations. Pottery shards, Chinese celadon vessels and roofing tiles were the main finds at Cheramanparamba. Mathilakam revealed the remains of large laterite walls and coins from the Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola times. These excavations helped revise the conclusions reached by Anujan Achan. He could not find stratigraphic evidence older than the 14th century, but the 1969–70 excavations found evidence from the 7th to the 8th century. It is surmised that Anujan Achan did not take into account the changes wrought to the land by the C.E. 1341 floods in the Periyar that changed the course of the river.
Explorations in the Perunkadavila village in Neyyattinkara taluk in 1978 brought to light the prehistoric rock shelter known as Pandavanpara. The cave walls have Neolithic-age engravings such as man hunting with bow and arrows, flower motifs, and abstract images engraved on the rock walls. The discovery of Hero stones in the remote hill tracts of Attappadi in Palakkad also happened during the same period. Hero stones are believed to be monuments to heroes who martyred in combats. Seventeen hero stones of varying sizes have been recovered from Puthur, Agali, Kottathara, and Attappadi. They are now on display across different museums under the Department.
The Department intervened in 1979 to stop the auctioning away of the ancient mandapam of the Enadimangalam temple near Enathu in Pathanamthitta district. The State Government brought an Extraordinary Gazette notification banning the unauthorized dismantling of priceless heritage sculptures from their original sites. The 14th-century relief sculptures depicting scenes from the epics were taken over and displayed in the Hill Palace Museum in Thripunithura. The government order helped prevent the sale and alienation of precious antique art objects to some extent.
The Department prepared a scheme for a comprehensive survey of archaeological data, and the survey conducted in Malabar brought to light several authoritative documents that could help rewrite the history of Kerala. The survey, known as the Malabar Survey Project, covered 79 temples in Thrissur district too.
Excavations conducted by the Department at the Iron Age ‘burial sites’ at Cherumanangad and Mangad in Kollam district have yielded a rich collection of ancient artefacts. The Cherumanangad site, measuring barely one and a half acres (0.60 ha), yielded nearly 70 relics of five different types umbrella stones, hat stones, hood stones, stone circles, and dolmens. One each of the specimens was opened to examine the contents, if any. The umbrella and Hood stone monuments did not yield any relics, but the Hat stone contained an 85-cm urn with a stone lid and containing bone fragments and small earthen pots, besides a copper pot and iron implements.
The excavation at Mangad was aimed at obtaining ‘insights’ into the Megalithic culture along the Kerala coast, besides the arrival time of iron in south India. A site 300 metres south of the Ashtamudi Lake in Kilikollur village in Kollam taluk, known as Madanparamba, was picked for excavations. The site had three Cairn circles made of 28 pieces of hard and coarse laterite blocks, and the excavation yielded burial urns, red and black pottery, red pottery, carnelian beads with white etching, and iron implements. Chemical analysis revealed the age of the objects to be nine centuries before the Common Era. The Department brought out an authoritative report of the excavations titled ‘The Iron Age of Kerala’.
Excavations in the Iron Age burial site at Puliyoor in Alappuzha district yielded gold ornaments, besides the usual pottery and iron and copper tools. This was the first recovery of gold from an Iron Age burial ground in Kerala. Another remarkable recovery was the remains of a wooden sailing boat from Thyckal in Kadakkarapally, Alappuzha during 2002–03. The 18.7 m. long by 4.05 m. wide flat-bottomed boat made of aini or anjili (Artocarpus hirsutus) timber was retrieved under mud following the spotting of a wooden plank. The ship’s lower deck partitioned into 11 chambers, yielded bone fragments, iron nails, sea shells, and pottery shards.
The Archaeology Department also took steps to establish the exact location of the port town of Muziris, which Sangam literature identifies as Muchiri, which the author of Periplus (journal) of Erythrian (Red) Sea has recorded. A papyrus scroll preserved in the Vienna Museum authenticates the trade relations Muziris had with Greece and Rome. The recovery of Roman gold coins from and around Kodungallore reignited the inquiry for Muziris, which had been described as the ‘Prime Emporium’ in ancient trade circles. Survey and trial excavations were conducted in the Pattanam village of North Paravur in 2003–04 to a depth of 2.5 metres at three locations. Among the artefacts recovered were parts of Roman amphora, Chera period coins, pearls, shards of different utensils, iron, etc. The excavated amphora was the first of its kind in Kerala. The Kerala Council for Historical Research took over further excavations at Pattanam.
The Department conducted noteworthy surveys and excavations at Chandragiri Fort in Kasargod; at Nenmeni, Kottathara, the Edakal Cave, Thovari, Kattikkulam and the Pazhassi Tomb in Wayanad; at Kururvattoor, Cheliya, the Kunjali Marackar Fort at Iringal Kottakkal in Kozhikode district; at Kadukkassery and Chettuva Fort in Thrissur District; at Kollengode Kovilakamparamba and Vellinezhy in Palakkad district; at Vypikkotta Seminary in Ernakulam district; and at Attakkulangara and Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram district, from where terracotta ring wells have been reported.
The 96 feet long, 20-22 ft. wide, Edakal Caves revealed several new images when it was excavated in 2008. The image of a man bearing a jar that was freshly exposed resembled the images in the Indus civilization, according to Dr. M.R. Raghava Varier. Several other engravings and thin shards of utensils were also recovered during the 2008 exercise. Excavations and surveys conducted in the vicinity of the cave in 2010 yielded a Neolithic-age polished stone axe, which strengthens the belief that the Edakkal Cave engravings belong to the Neolithic age.
Trial excavations have been going on since 2007 in the Kottappuram Fort in the Methala village of Kodungallore taluk. The fort, built by the Portuguese in 1523 and known as the Cranganore Fort, was annexed from the Portuguese by the Dutch in 1662. It was bought over by the King of Travancore in 1780. The fort was attacked and destroyed during Tipu Sulthan’s foray into Kodungallore. Remnants of the fortification came to light when debris was removed in 2007. Among the relics recovered were Chinese porcelain pieces, celadon shards, turquoise-glazed pottery (TGP), cannon balls, trinkets, tobacco pipes, coins, iron implements, roofing tiles, etc. Similar trial excavations were also conducted at Cheramanparamba, Pallippuram, and Kottayil Kovilakam as part of the investigations at Kottappuram.
Detailed surveys were conducted in 2010 in Marayur and Kanthallur Panchayaths of Devikulam taluk, Idukki, for prehistoric sites in the hill tracts. Several prehistoric cave paintings, megalithic relics, and worship sites were found and recorded. Data helpful for researchers and academics in recreating the history of the land older than three thousand years has been found in these efforts.
Recent excavations
The Tipu Sulthan Fortifications at Feroke, Kozhikode: A protected monument, the fort was subjected to scientific explorations, excavations and surveys during the past five years. Surveys with ground-penetrating radar located ancient objects under the surface at over a hundred locations, including the remnants of walls, moats, trenches, and bastions. Excavations helped unearth coins, Chinese celadon wares, blue and white pottery, coin pellet moulds for making coins, Staffordshire pottery, gun flint, musket balls, several kinds of glazed ceramics, and the remains of buildings built with granite boulders.
Laterite cave at Pothuvachery, Kannur: A laterite cave typical of the megalithic culture was unearthed close to the Manikkiyil temple at Pothuvachery in the Mavilayi Village of Kannur District. The Department subjected the site to scientific inspection in September 2019 and recovered relics associated with megalithic culture, such as terracotta pottery, bone remains, iron tools, etc. The terracotta vessels were unique in that they had been decorated with colours, which is uncommon. Another such find was the longish iron sword.
Burial urns from Maniyur-Karimbunkara: Burial urns with unique beaked rim and decorated red pottery were recovered from Karimpunkara in the Maniyur village of Thaliparamba taluk of Kannur, when the ground was being prepared for building a house. Out of three burial urns recovered, one had its rim decorated with thumbnail markings. Since all the urns recovered portrayed different designs and decorations, it is surmised that the vessels belonged to different times or to different communities.
Burial Urn from Pottor, Kolazhy: A burial urn that is estimated to be about 2500 years old was recovered from a private compound in Pottor village of Kolazhy Panchayath in Thrissur. Since the specimen was in extreme dilapidation, scientific testing and recovery could not be done properly. The site was inspected on November 22, 2019.
Burial Urn at Koyakkad-Pilassery in Kozhikode: Clay pots of different sizes and shapes, including a rare pumpkin jar, and iron chisels belonging to the Iron Age were recovered from a private farm at Pilassery-Koyakkad, Kunnamangalam village, Kozhikode taluk, when a ridge was being built for farming purposes.
Laterite Cave at Thruppangott,Tirur: Sixteen earthen pots and three iron tools were found in a laterite cave discovered on private land in Thruppangott village in Tirur taluk of Malappuram district. The earthen pots have unique features that are expected to shed light on the history of the area upon scientific analysis. The Department is working in anticipation of finding more such relics from the area.
Chellarkovil, Idukki: The burial urns and other relics of the megalithic age discovered while digging farmland in Chellarkovil Village, Udumbanchola taluk, are apt to shed light on the lifestyle of the people in the hill district in the megalithic era. The most notable excavated objects were two burial urns, a jar, a pitcher, a bowl, a conical jar, paddy grain, iron tools, bone remnants, and etched carnelian beads. Scientific evaluation of the finds is expected to shed much light on the history of the land.
The Department also took over 26 carnelian beads from the village officer of Kanchiyar village in Idukki on May 25, 2020, which were found in a burial urn found while digging a tank. The beads are of oblong and round shapes, and some have carvings, too.
Murikkanchery Kelu Memorial: A memorial exists at Payyambalam in Kannur, where Murikkanchery Kelu, who was the head of the army of Kolathiri, was cremated. An eight-metre-long laterite wall atop a laterite hillock, built with 22x10x45cm hard laterite stones using lime as mortar, has been cleared of weeds and set for survey and excavation.
Other important excavations: Excavations in the Viyyur Laterite cave in Koyilandy taluk of Kozhikode district yielded several unique Megalithic-age relics, including a rare earthen sarcophagus, 27 other earthen pots, 12 iron tools, and 86 rare quartz pearls.
Excavations in the Ichchannur laterite caves in Chelannur village yielded a rare stone hook, the first of its kind to be found in Kerala.
A historic monument was rescued and resurrected when the Archaeology Department excavated the Perumpadappu Big Well (ValiyaKinar) at Vanneri in Ponnani, which was the seat of the Perumpadappu Swaroopam.
Burial urns that were as old as 2000 years were recovered from the compound of the Nalloor Government L.P. School, near Feroke, in Kozhikode. The urns with decorations on them were the first of their kind to be recovered from Kerala.
Marakara Laterite Caves: Two caves were discovered when laterite bricks were cut to build a house in Marakara village in Tirur taluk of Malappuram district. The cave underwent excavation in August 2015. 12 potteries, several potsherds, 24 iron implements, carnelian and crystal beads were recovered from here.
Pattiam Laterite Cave: This laterite cave was discovered while levelling the land in Pattiam village in Thalassery taluk of Kannur. The entrance to this cave is decorated with a five-tiered frame. 12 broken pottery and iron implements were recovered from this cave.
Poovambayi Nannangadi: Poovambayi Nannangadi (Urn burial) found from the Poovambayi M.A. Higher Secondary School in Kinalur, Kozhikode. It was the sherds, which were found while digging in the ground for sports purposes, that led the Department to the excavation. When the soil at the bottom of Nannangadi was removed, a Mesolithic micro-stone weapon made of quartz was found. Nannangadi, excavated from here, is characterised by a pyriform bottom.
Kudallur Laterite Cave: A cave was discovered while digging at Parapuram, Kudallur, in Anakkara village of Palakkad district. Nannangadi, pottery, seven iron tools and bones were recovered inside the cave.
Aranmula Teracotta Figurins: A number of terracotta objects were exposed when the bank of the river was washed off near the Anjilimoottil Kadavu (ferry point) at Kozhipalam, Aranmula, in the flood of 2018. The figurines founded were stuck among the roots of a tree uprooted in a private property. The Department conducted a scientific examination of the relics; 500 pieces of terracotta figurines were recovered and documented. The figures are mostly images of women and men, and the most notable were seven female figures seated on a cylindrical pedestal.
