Two assistant professors of history at Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College in Madurai, have found a Pandya-era inscription dating back to the 13th century near Pradukkaranpatti village in Theni district.
S. Rajagopal and R. Praiya, who found the stone inscription were working as part of a research project at their institution between June 2019 and May 2020.
“When the project began, we wanted to research Nayak inscriptions. Both of us are from Theni. My colleague, Rajagopal, had spotted the stone inscription around seven years ago. Hence, both of us decided to explore it,” said Ms. Praiya.
The inscription was spotted between Rosanpatti and Pradukkaranpatti village, on a plot of agricultural land. The stone inscription, according to archaeologist C. Santhalingam, says that a layperson or a citizen gave ‘dhamam’ or charity to a king. This is unique because usually, kings give charity to citizens, he said.
Ms. Praiya said that the area has significant research potential and must be explored further.