The towns and cities along the Noyyal river in western Tamil Nadu are well-known for their industrial activities and international trade connections. On the bank of river Noyyal nestles Kodumanal, a village which used to be a busy industrial-cum-trade centre more than two millennia ago. An obscure village with a population of around thousand it lies 41 km southwest of its district capital Erode and 26 km east of the city of Tiruppur, which too is situated at the banks of river Noyyal.
Archaeological and history experts categorise the period of Kodumanal civilization into two cultural periods viz Megalithic era and Prehistoric era. During this period that spread between 5th century BCE and 1st century BCE, the ancient dwellers of Kodumanal, then called ‘Kodumanam’ excelled in crafts, had trade connections out of the continent, and constructed long lasting structures.
How did Kodumanal came to light, what are the findings of Kodumanal archaeological excavation, what are the significance of Kodumanal’s archaeological findings, what was the lifestyle of the people of Kodumanal, which other parts of the world were connected to Kodumanal via trade? Here we go to explore.
VN Srinivasa Desikar, an officer with the Archaeological Survey of India, was the first whisperer about Kodumanal. The year was 1961. Back then he reported only about the megalithic burial sites. Little did he know that not just human remains are buried there but a treasure trove of antiquities and a rich artisanal legacy.
It was only S Rasu, then Professor of Epigraphy at the Tamil University, Thanjavur, who let the world know that Kodumanal is much more than a megalithic burial site.
Rasu visited Kodumanal as a school teacher, in the 1960s, after the ASI report prepared by Desikar. He found antiquities that proved that Kodumanal was once a habitation-cum-industrial centre during his visit.
The reference of a trade centre named ‘Kodumanam’ in Pathitrupathu, a Sangam era literature (ancient Tamil literature), word of mouth communication about ancient antiquities being found at the agricultural lands around the village, history about the trade route of the Chera kingdom, along Noyyal river, towards the West Coast (Arabian Sea) etc made him zero in on Kodumanal.
Inspired by S Rasu’s revelations, the Tamil University, led by Prof Subburayan, began an archaeological excavation at the site in 1985-86 and 1989-90, says Prof K Rajan, who was a part of those excavations.
The above findings acted as an impetus to the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology which began an archaeological excavation in 1997-98. This phase of excavation revealed the structures of the urn burials and cist burials followed by the people of ‘Kodumanam.’
The excavation by Pondicherry University in 2012-13 led by Prof Rajan brought out few important information about ancient Kodumanal.
‘’The main aim was this phase of excavation to find the era of the Tamil Brahmi scripts. This phase proved the existence of the copper smelting industry, shell industry, gemstone industry and textile industry. During the earlier excavations spindle whorls were found. But during this phase, we found textile [product] for the first time. We found a small piece of yarn sticking to a cake of clay,” says Rajan.
Carbon dating of the artefacts revealed that the range of ancient Kodumanal was between 480 BCE to some point of time in the 1st century BCE, says Rajan.
This period overlaps with both the Megalithic era and the Prehistoric era.
The number of artefacts ranging from potsherds to ornaments almost the same during all phases of excavation at Kodumanal, according to Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology.
Roman coins, punched marked coins etc found during various phases of excavations at Kodumanal belong to a period between 4th and 1st century BCE. During this time, the streets of ‘Kodumanam’ were echoing the footsteps of ancient traders, who visited the Chera Kingdom. The trade route passed along the banks of the river Noyyal and connected their then capital, Karur, with the west coast, says historians.
Roman coins were found at Vellalore, another village at the bank of Noyyal, during 1842, 1891 and 1932. The past excavations at Vellalore have discovered the same type of gemstones found at Kodumanal. Their period too matches with that of the ones of Kodumanal, only to cement the suggestion that Kodumanal was trading beyond the horizons of today’s peninsular India.
Proof for the existence of iron smelting plants, beads making industry, graffiti marks and terracotta potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions were found during the initial phases of archaeological excavations (1986-87, 1989-90), says Rajan.
The discovery of quartz, agate beads, carnelian beads, lapis lazuli beads, beryl beads etc at almost all ten phases of excavations since, suggested that the humble hamlet had a thriving gemstone industry, two millennia ago.
All ten seasons found the usage of iron in Kodumanal. Only the recent phase of excavation done during 2020-21 has proven that there was an industry based on iron.
No evidence for structural activity found in earlier phases of excavations. But the final phase of excavation found a step well.
When we compared the number of inscribed potsherds found by the Tamil Nadu department of Archaeology, Kodumanal has more number of such potsherds than other places, says J Ranjith, Archaeological Officer and Project Director for Kodumanal during 2019-20, 2020-21 phases.
Prof. Rajan and a researcher at Kerala Council for Historical Research confirms that there were connections between Kodumanal and Muchiri as both of them were under the rule of the Chera Kingdom, for a considerable period of time though the exact duration hasn’t been establisheD.
The trade route Peru Vazhi, that can be translated as grand road, stretched along Karur - Kodumanal - Sulur - Vellalore - Velanthavalam - Vanji - Kodungallur to reach Pattanam, which is considered to be Muchiri by some archeologists and historians..
Archaeological excavations have been done at all the places and similar artefacts and coins belonging to the same era were found. The excavation done by KCHR at Pattanam has found Chera era coins among other things.
An artefact unearthed from Kodumanal
According to Ranjith, quartz stone was found in abundance in Kodumanal region and it was natural for the residents to make an industry out of it owing to this geological factor. Both raw materials found in nature and finished beads have been found during excavations.
A village near Kodumanal called ‘Padiyoor’ is still famous for making quartz materials. ‘Padimam’ in Tamil literally means ‘fossils’ and ‘Oor’ means ‘Village.’ That may be how the village got its name, perhaps, he reasons.
Majority of the gemstones found at Kodumanal are carnelian beads. However, no raw material for the same is available in nature, anywhere in Tamil Nadu. In India, the natural formation of carnelian stone can be found in Gujarat only. Lapis lazuli, another precious gemstone is also not available in Tamil Nadu. This establishes the possible trade connections of Kodumanal to other parts of present-day India and the outside world.
The last phase of excavations alone has found about three tonnes of iron slag, from a single stretch with a length of over 30 metres, with seven furnaces lying close to each other, suggesting that iron was being extracted from iron ore at Kodumanal. Iron ore from distant lands became tools and treasures due to the artisanal endeavours of Kodumanal.
Though burial sites have been found during the archaeological excavations at other places too, what makes Kodumanal unique is the proximity between the habitation site and the burial site. Both these sites are adjacent to each other unlike other sites, where the distance between the two is usually one or two kilometres, says Ranjith.
The burial sites of Kodumanal, with numerous skeletal remains, have revealed different types of burials and the eschatological faith of the ancient dwellers. Urn burials, cist burials, cist burials with chambers etc were followed here. Further research on the urn and cists that remained intact has revealed that the people of Kodumanal perhaps believed in the afterlife.
For instance, the 1997-98 excavation by the Archaeological Department has revealed three megalithic era burial cists with a menhir.
This large burial cist, with a dimension of 6.2*5.6*1.75 metres, was segregated into a main cist, a passage, a subsidiary cist, an urn, a butters wall, an inner circle of stones, an outer circle of stones (butter circle), and a sub circle of stones.
The trapeze porthole, that connected the main cist and the porthole, was first of its kind as they are usually circular in shape. Experts believe that it was made to give offerings to the deceased inside the main cist.
The urn was found to have the skeletal remains of a deer, which was the supposed offering. The urn was also filled with gemstones numbering around 7,000.
A sword, few arrows, four double edged axes, terracotta bowls, pots, jars, copper strainer etc were kept around the main cist, indicating that they were provided to the deceased for afterlife. The pots and jars were believed to be filled with grains.
Excavations at the burial sites have revealed such structures consistently. About 250, megalithic era cairn-circles were found at a burial site, during the last phase of excavation in 2020. This site was about 500 metres north of Noyyal river.
The Archaeological Department in its excavations have found many prehistoric era pits used to save grains, indicating that agricultural activities too were carried out on the banks of the river Noyyal and these pits acted as a granary alcove to save the surplus produce.
A publication by the department on Kodumanal states that the majority of artefacts found here that establishes industrial activity and lapidary craftsmanship, belong to the megalithic period. There was a decline in industrial activities during the prehistoric era, which was dominated by agricultural activities.
Graffiti marks, potsherds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions etc too dwindled during the prehistoric era, which is called as the ‘Second Cultural Period’ of Kodumanal, when the shift from craft to cultivation took place. (The Megalithic era is called the First Cultural Period.)
Terracotta tiles used as roof for houses during the second cultural period have been found and floors of few houses of this period remain intact till date, indicating that the surfaces of the floor were hardened during the prehistoric era.
Archaeological research suggests that there was a possible migration during the end of the civilization. Though the legacy of Kodumanal reverberates through ages, the puzzling wait to know how it ended may be unlocked by future scientific research. For now, that’s a mystery.
Vignesh A is an independent Journalist based in Tamil Nadu and has worked with The New Indian Express and the BBC.