Tamil Nadu: Fossilised wood hints at pre-historic story

CHENNAI: A two-metre-long petrified (fossilised) wood has been found by a group of farmers in Karambiyum village in the Kunnum taluk of Perambalur district. The discovery points to the ancient geological shifts in the region. Millions of years ago, in the Cretaceous period, this region was under water. The Indo-Pacific Sea had transgressed between today's Puducherry and Karaikal regions and after some 80 million years had regressed, leaving millions of creatures dead in the dry sea-bed.
Even though fossils of sea animals and pieces of petrified woods are found in the region, this is the first time such a long piece of fossilised wood has been found. Since the fossilised wood represents the remains of ancient forests, the team that found it informed the Geological Survey of India which maintains the fossil wood park in Sathanur. "We have informed the officials of the GSI. We are yet to get a reply from the officials," said agriculture activist Ramesh Karuppaiya, a member in the group that found the petrified wood.
Ramesh said since the petrified wood in Karambiyum is attached to a stone, it would be difficult to remove. "In 2015, we had formed special groups to conserve the petrified woods found in Perambalur. The villagers are aware of the importance of petrified wood today as the fossils help us understand the history and evolution of our earth. It's better if the government can install a steel gauge around it to preserve it," he said.
There are two wood fossil parks in Tamil Nadu in Tiruvakkarai and Sathanur, "The one found in Karambiyum looks old, but one has to study it in detail to know its exact age," said M N Ramanujam, a retired geology professor based in Trichy. The villagers said they have informed the officials of the GSI with the photographs of the petrified wood. "It's good villagers have notified such discoveries. We are yet to decide on when to visit the spot," said an official from the GSI.