October 6, 2026 · THIS IS TAMIL
Keeladi: the excavation that retells Tamil history
Keeladi (also Keezhadi, கீழடி) is a small village in Sivaganga district, about 12 kilometres south-east of Madurai on the Vaigai river. Archaeologists have been digging here since 2015 – first the Archaeological Survey of India, later the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology. What they found has changed the conversation about early Tamil history.
A town on the Vaigai
Beneath the fields they uncovered walls of fired brick, ring wells, drainage channels and workshops, along with spindle whorls, beads, jewellery, gaming pieces and imported pottery. The picture: a well-organised urban settlement of craftspeople and traders – just as Sangam poetry describes the towns along the Vaigai.
Writing on potsherds
Especially important are potsherds with names scratched in Tamil-Brahmi. According to the 2019 report of the state archaeology department, some layers date back to the 6th century BCE. This suggests that reading and writing spread through Tamil society earlier and more widely than long assumed.
A museum for everyone
Since 2023 the Keeladi Museum, right next to the excavation site, has displayed many of the finds. For Tamils around the world Keeladi has become a symbol: our history is not only told in poems – it also lies in the earth.
Buried roots, living culture
Our KEELADI design shows bricks, wells and Tamil-Brahmi letters – a tribute to the people who lived on the Vaigai more than 2,000 years ago.