‘Pattanam, first habitat site excavated in Kerala'
Staff Reporter
KOCHI: Pattanam was the first habitat site excavated in Kerala, said P.J. Cherian, director of the Kerala Council for Historical Research. He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Indian Ocean exchanges and significance of Pattanam archaeological research,' organised by the Department of History of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam, on Tuesday.
It was at Arrikkamedu, near Pondicherry, that the remains of a habitat were found earlier. Pattanam means a town or a port city in at least a dozen Indian languages. Researchers are yet to locate the sites of the ancient ports of South India, including the ones in Kerala, he said.
The archaeological finds from Pattanam indicated 3,000 years of continuous history. The finding of beads and semi-precious stones of fine quality in large numbers from Pattanam indicated that beads manufacturing units existed in this area, he said.
Presenting a paper on the archaeology of the lower Periyar basin, Rajan Chedambath, secretary of the Centre for Heritage Environment and Development of the Kochi Corporation, said habitational deposits in the lower Periyar basin indicated the existence of many significant archaeological sites there.
Many other sites in area
Pattanam was one of the many such sites in the region.
In areas such as Mathilakam, few kilometres north of the Periyar river, pottery of fine ware quality were found. However, no attention was given to study such sites.