Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, laid the foundation stone for the establishment of a museum in Adichanallur, to showcase artefacts from ancient Tamil civilization, excavated from this archaeological site.
The announcement of the setting up of the museum had been made in the Union Budget in 2020.
The excavation, led by Regional Director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Arun Raj, has unearthed burial urns, metal and bronze products used by ancient Tamils and a gold diadem. Subsequently, the Union Government decided to set-up an onsite museum at this hotspot of ancient Tamil civilization and came out with its decision on setting up the museum in 2021.
The excavated artefacts, mostly burial urns, have been placed in a toughened glass-covered pit at the ‘B’ Site in the Adichanallur ‘parambu’ in an ‘as is where is’ condition so that the visitors standing above the pit can easily see these utensils and other products used by ancient Tamils 3,000 years ago. After taking a look at the pit through the glass, Ms. Sitharaman carefully got into the pit along with Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi, to take a closer look at the burial urns.
The museum is to come up on five acres of land, situated about a kilometre from the archaeological site on Adichanallur – Srivaikundam Road.
“Even though an excavation in Adichanallur was taken up in 1876 itself, and there was a plan to establish a museum to exhibit the artefacts recovered here, this dream has been realized today after 145 years. This is the first onsite archaeological museum in the country,” said writer Muththaalankurichi Kamarasu, who had approached the courts to expedite the excavation in Adichanallur and to set up an onsite museum to showcase the artefacts. He also sought the publication of a report submitted by Archaeological Survey of India in 2017 on the Adichanallur excavations.
Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Anitha R. Radhakrishnan, Thoothukudi District Collector K. Senthil Raj, Mayor Jegan Periyasamy and former MP Sasikala Pushpa were present on the occasion.
