The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has formally communicated a strongly worded internal evaluation of the Keeladi excavation report to archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna, describing key findings as “ambiguous, incomplete and underdeveloped,” according to a Times of India report.
The 114-page evaluation, prepared by a five-member internal committee of the ASI, critically reviews 11 chapters of the 982-page excavation report submitted by Ramakrishna, who led the first two phases of excavation at the Keeladi site in Tamil Nadu between 2014 and 2016. The assessment was sent to Ramakrishna earlier this week, nearly two years after he submitted the final report in January 2023.
According to ToI, in its critique of the opening chapter, the ASI said the report’s “scholarly utility is constrained by structural ambiguity, incomplete source attribution and underdeveloped conceptual linkages to broader South Asian contexts.” The evaluation noted that the narrative blended historical background, literary references and research gaps without clear thematic divisions, reducing readability and obscuring analytical focus.
Under “key issues and recommendations,” the ASI had flagged incomplete citations and unqualified traditional claims. “Citations are incomplete and traditional claims are presented without clarification,” the report had stated.
The evaluation also rejected Ramakrishna’s interpretation of Keeladi as a “uni-cultural site” with continuous cultural evolution, saying the term was undefined and inconsistent with stratigraphic evidence and material culture variations documented in the report. Methodological weaknesses such as over-generalisation and incomplete analyses, it said, weakened the interpretation. The committee recommended revising terminology, better integrating stratigraphic and material data, and undertaking further scientific analyses to align interpretations with the archaeological record.
The ASI’s assessment comes amid growing political and academic debate over delays in releasing the Keeladi report. Three days earlier, DMK MPs raised the issue in Parliament, accusing the Union government of stalling its publication. Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told Parliament on December 19 that the report remained pending due to a lack of response from the archaeologist and alleged “politicisation of an incomplete scientific document.”
Ramakrishna has consistently defended his findings, stating that the site’s chronology was reconstructed using stratigraphic sequences, material culture and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry dating. He has refused to alter the conceptual framework of the report, saying that changing first-hand findings would compromise academic integrity.
The Keeladi excavations, now continued by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, have unearthed thousands of artefacts and radiocarbon dates pointing to an early urban civilisation along the Vaigai river, making the site a flashpoint in debates over South India’s ancient past.
https://www.thenewsminute.com/videos/why-keeladi-is-shaking-up-indias-history-and-politics-lme-80