That Chennai's outskirts are an archeological goldmine has been demonstrated once again after a team of young archeologists recently unearthed rare objects dating between the early Christian era and the later Pallava period. The site is located at Arpakkam village, some 85 kms south of Chennai, in Kancheepuram.

A 13-member that included ten final year post graduate students from the Department of Ancient History and Archeology of the University of Madras unearthed these finds in a month-long dig. The team chose Arpakkam as it is mentioned in ancient literature, team members said. Inscriptions on the walls of three ancient temples indicated the historicity of the site. "Besides, Arpakkam lies on the fringe of a mound where we had found remains of megalith burials," said assistant technical officer of the department, N Ranganathan, who is also a draughtsman.

The finds include a rare granite statue of the jyeshta' (elder in Sanskrit) sister of the goddess of wealth accompanied by two children, one on each side. The statue featuring a buffalo head band is typical of the early Pallava period, said Professor M Seran, technical officer of the department. The statue was found abandoned near a thorn bush. Seran hypothesized that the elder sister of a goddess was probably considered inauspicious and, therefore, the jyeshta statue merited less attention. Seran, acoompanied by two faculty members, led the team.

The excavation is an annual programme conducted by the department to expose students to practical knowledge and the challenges they will encounter on the field. So far, the department has conducted 17 such exercises since the programme was initiated in 1963.

While the programme was funded by a Rs 70,000 university grant, Arpakkam vilagers did their bit by arranging accommodation and food for the team.

After identifying the site, a trench was laid and instructions given to students on how to do the excavation. The students were able to identify more than 50 rare objects, both small and big, including beads, bangles, seals, and ornaments made up of semi-precious stones including quartz. The stones were used by the affluent classes of the Pallava kingdom and the early Christian era.

Other interesting finds include a floor polishing stone and black and red ware sherds. The pottery sherds feature a unique design of shoulders with engravings of loops and leaves. The hind limb of a terracota elephant, a broken vessel stand, a hopscotch marker - used by children to play games - also stood out among the finds.

But, perhaps, the most striking find for the archaeologists was the foundation layer laid for a small room. The room was divided into two. The layer was made of river sand. This style can be found in Tanjore big temple, Seran said. But the building techniques used in Tanjore were far advanced, he noted.

Source: TOI