The reports on the excavations at Adichanallur in Tirunelveli district, which have been awaiting publication for the past 15 years, were submitted to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) a month ago.
Confirming this to The Hindu a day after the Centre announced a proposal to set up a museum at Adichanallur, ASI Superintending Archaeologist (Chennai Circle) A.M.V. Subramanyam said, “The ASI’s publication division would examine them and decide on publishing them.”
Retired ASI Superintending Archaeologist T. Satyamurthy, who led the excavations, said two reports had been submitted. “I submitted the second part, and heard that the first part was also submitted recently,” he said.
Welcoming the Centre’s announcement, Mr. Satyamurthy said on-site museums would help in storing the findings at the site. “Unlike in the case of minor sites, the findings at major sites should not be taken elsewhere and should be kept in the same place,” he added. The excavations at Adichanallur were undertaken during 2004-05.
However, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture K. Pandiarajan (who also handles the Archaeology portfolio) said the ASI had only submitted an interim report and not the final one.
Skeletal remains
When the Tamil Nadu government’s Department of Archaeology attempted to set up a museum at the site, the ASI had objected to the proposal, maintaining that no structure should come up within 200 metres of the site. “Anyway, it is welcome that the ASI will now set up a museum. It should also publish the report soon,” he said.
Though some human skeletal remains were found at the archaeological site, they haven’t been studied yet due to a lack of experts.
Commissioner of Tamil Nadu's Department of Archaeology T. Udhayachandran said the remains were eventually handed over to the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI). “The study could not be undertaken since there was no physical anthropologist,” he said.
The head of office of AnSI’s Southern Regional Centre in Mysuru could not be reached for comment.