‘Archaeology has shed light on uniqueness of India’s civilization’

During the last 100 years, archaeology has brought to light some of the unique features of India’s civilization and the existence of several other cultures in India’s hoary past, Nanditha Krishna, director, CPR Institute of Indological Research said in Chennai on Friday.

At a seminar on ‘The Importance of Archaeology in Decoding Indian History’ organised by C P Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research, Chennai and Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, Ms Krishna said, the recent discovery of iron in Sivakalai has taken the iron age of south India back in time. “Archaeology offers a unique perspective on human history and culture and helps us understand where, when and how people lived,” she said.

T Satyamurthy, former director of archeology, Kerala, said, archaeological excavations and explorations throw light on the composite nature of the early recorded cultural assemblages. Besides unearthing cultural materials and providing chronological sequence of individual sites, they present the homogenous nature of the proto-historic period of the past and such a stage is identified as the Iron Age of the South.

B R Mani, vice chancellor, National Institute of Heritage and Director General, National Museum, New Delhi spoke at length about the excavations at Ayodhya and its importance in Indian history and culture and noted that the antiquity of Ayodhya goes back to 17^th century BC.