Tamil inscriptions

This is a list of archaeological artefacts and epigraphs which have Tamil inscriptions. Of the approximately 100,000 inscriptions found by the Archaeological Survey of India (2005 report) in India, about 60,000 were in Tamil Nadu[1]

3rd century BCE Tamizh inscription of Mangulam

1st century BCE. Tamizh inscription found in Jambai village, Tamil Nadu

Stone beds with Tamizh script inscriptions of Jain saints in Sittanavasal, Pudukkottai District, 1st century BCE

1st Century BCE. Silver Ring From Karur, Tamil Nadu with Personal Name "Peravatan" in Tamizh script

Ancient Tamil Epigraphy

• Burial of Adichanallur, Tamil Nadu found with graffiti and Tamili script[2][3][4]
• Keeladi excavation site found with Tamili inscriptions in various structures and artifacts, on pottery with Tamil names such as Aathan, Uthiran, Kuviran-Aathan and Thisan.[5][6]

6th century BCE

• Annaicoddai seal (steatite seal), Tamili inscriptions mixed in with Megalithic Graffiti Symbols found in Annaicoddai, Sri Lanka, c. 1000 BCE – c. 300 BCE[7][8]

5th century BCE

• Potsherds found in kodumanal and Porunthal[9][10][11][12]

• Tamizh script dating to 500 BCE found at Porunthal site is located 12 km South West of Palani, Tamil Nadu
• Tamizh script dating to 500 BCE found at Kodumanal, Chennimalai near Erode, Tamil Nadu
• Punch-marked coins of 5th century BCE found at Karur, on the bank of river Amaravathi, is located at 78 km from Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu[13]
• A terracotta weight holder with inscriptions in Tamizh has been excavated by archaeologists at a megalithic site in Periya Thadagam, on Coimbatore outskirts, Tamil Nadu, 5th – 3rd century BCE[14][15]

The Tamizh script on the black and red, four-cm-long ‘thangi’ read ‘thavan sathan’, which meant meditating hermit

4th century BCE

• Ancient Pottery dating back to the 4th century BCE have been discovered off shore by marine archaeologists east of Poompuhar, also known as Kaveripattinam is a town in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. Kaveripattnam was a thriving ancient capital port city of the Early Chola Empire.[16]

3rd century BCE

• Tamizh inscriptions in caves, Mangulam, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, 3rd century BCE[17][18][19]

There are five caves in the hill of which six inscriptions are found in four caves.[20] These were inscribed during Sangam period, hence it is considered as one of the important inscriptions in Tamil Nadu.[21] The inscriptions mentions that workers of Nedunchezhiyan I, a Pandyan king of Sangam period, (c. 270 BCE) made stone beds for Jain monks. It further details the name of worker for whom he made stone bed. For example, an inscription shows that Kadalan Vazhuthi, a worker of Nedunchezhiyan made stone bed to Jain monk Nanda Sirikuvan.[22] It is one of the protected monuments in Tamil Nadu by the Archaeological Survey of India.[23]

• Artifact related to Early Pandyan Kingdom's King Nedunchezhiyan I (c. 270 BCE) found in Kovalanpottal, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu[24][25]
• Potsherds with Tamizh script found in Korkai, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, 3rd century BCE[26]
• Tamizh inscription, dating back to 3rd century BCE, engraved in a cave where early Jain monks were said to have resided found in Arittapatti village, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu[27][28]
• Tamizh script dating back to the 3rd century BCE near Thenur, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Script is written in gold bar[29]
• Black and red ware potsherd with Tamizh inscriptions in Ucchapanai, Kandarodai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 3rd century BCE[30][31]

2nd century BCE

• Black and red ware piece containing Tamizh inscription found in Mangudi, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, 2nd century BCE[32]

The inscription has been deciphered as "Kurummangala Athan yi Yanai Po"

• Tamizh inscription in Samanamalai, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, 2nd century BCE[33]

It reads as "Peru Thorur Kunra Ko Ayam" or "Peru Tho Ur Uzhithegne Ayam" or "Peru Te Rur Kuzhiththai Ayam"

• Potsherds with Tamizh inscriptions found in Poonagari, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 2nd century BCE[34]
• Arikamedu Excavations, as its ancient commercial link with the Romans has been established, It is one of the Silk Road sites in India, 2nd century BCE

1st century BCE

• Tamizh script Rock-cavern inscription in Jambai village, Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu, 1st century BCE

It reads "Satiyaputo Atiyan Nedumaan Anjji itta Paali", In (Tamil: ஸதியபுதோ அதியந் நெடுமாந் அஞ்சி ஈத்த பாழி).[35] The meaning of the epigraph may be rendered as "The abode (pali) given by (itta) Atiyan Nedumaan Anji (name), the Satyaputra (title)". Though the record is a short one in a single line, it throws valuable light on various aspects of South Indian history. The inscription clears the doubt about the identity of the Satyaputras, a dynasty of rulers, mentioned in Ashoka's inscriptions in the 3rd century BCE[36]

• A broken storage jar with inscriptions in Tamizh script in Quseir-al-Qadim, (Leukos Limen) Egypt, 1st century BCE. Two earlier Tamizh inscription discoveries at the same site, 1st century BCE.[37]

The inscribed text is 𑀧𑀸𑀦𑁃 𑀑𑀶𑀺 paanai oRi "pot suspended in a rope net" (which would be பானை ஒறி in the modern Tamil script)[38]

• An inscribed amphora fragment in Tamil at the ancient Ptolemic-Roman settlement of Berenice Troglodytica, Egypt, 1st century BCE[37]
• Potsherd with Tamizh script found in Oman, 1st century BCE[39]
• Tamizh script found on Tirupparankundram hill, Madurai, 1st century BCE[40]

it reads as "Muu-na-ka-ra" and "Muu-ca-ka-ti"

• Tamizh script Rock Bed Inscription in Sittanavasal, Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu, 1st century BCE[41]

It reads as "Eruminatu kumul-ur piranta kavuti-i tenku-cirupocil ilayar ceyta atit-anam"

• Silver Ring From Karur, Tamil Nadu with Personal Name "Peravatan" in Tamizh script, 1st Century BCE[41]
• Megalithic pottery with graffiti symbols that have a strong resemblance to a sign in the Indus script have been found in Sembiyankandiyur and Melaperumpallam villages, Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, 1st Century BCE[42][43]
• Hundreds of potsherds of the Mediterranean region which include rouletted ware, amphorae jar pieces and pieces of red ware with Tamizh script have been found in Alagankulam, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, 1st century BCE[44]

See also

• Tamizh
• Tamil script
• Tamil inscriptions in the Malay world
• Tamil bell In New Zealand
• Tamil copper-plate inscriptions
• Indian copper plate inscriptions
• Laguna Copperplate Inscription
• Tamil Brahmi inscription of Tissamaharama
• Pallava script
• History of Tamil Nadu
• Chronology of Tamil history
• Tamil Heritage Foundation
• Early Indian epigraphy
• Tamil inscriptions in Sri Lanka

References

1. Staff Reporter (22 November 2005). "Students get glimpse of heritage". Chennai, India: The Hindu. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
2. Chandar, B. Tilak (5 April 2019). "Adichanallur site belongs to a period between 905 and 696 BC". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
3. "The ghosts of Adichanallur: Artefacts that suggest an ancient Tamil civilisation of great sophistication". The Hindu. 13 January 2018.
4. "Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur". The Hindu. 17 February 2005.
5. "Sangam civilisation older than thought, says new report". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
6. Jesudasan, Dennis S. (20 September 2019). "Keezhadi excavations: Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
7. Rajan, K (2008), "Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections", Social Scientist, 36 (1/2): 40–78
8. Mahadevan, Iravatham (2002). "Aryan or Dravidian or Neither? – A Study of Recent Attempts to Decipher the Indus Script (1995–2000)". Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies. 8 (1). Archived from the original on 23 July 2007.
9. Roger D. Gwen Robbins Schug, Subhash R. Walimbe (2016). A Companion to South Asia in the Past. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 311. ISBN 978-1-119-05548-8.
10. K. Rajan (2014). Iron Age - Early Historic Transition in South India (PDF). Institute of Archaeology. p. 9.
11. Kishore, Kavita (15 October 2011). "Porunthal excavations prove existence of Indian scripts in 5th century BC: expert". THE HINDU. Chennai, India.
12. Subramanian, T.S. (20 May 2013). "Tamil Brahmi script dating to 500 BC found near Erode at Kodumanal near Chennimalai". The newindianexpress. Chennai, India.
13. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/sitemus/mus11.htm
14. "Tamil Brahmi letters found in archaeological exploration". Deccan Chronicle. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
15. "Megalithic site discovered near Thadagam". The Hindu. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
16. Marine archaeological explorations of Tranquebar-Poompuhar region on Tamil Nadu coast, Rao, S.R.. Journal of Marine Archaeology, Vol. II, July 1991. Available online at
17. John D. Bengtson (January 2008). In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the Four Fields of Anthropology : in Honor of Harold Crane Fleming. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 427–. ISBN 978-90-272-3252-6.
18. Iravatham Mahadevan (2003). Early Tamil epigraphy from the earliest times to the sixth century A.D. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1.
19. R. Umamaheshwari (2018). Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Springer. p. 43. ISBN 978-81-322-3756-3.
20. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/Jaina-treasure-trove-in-Mankulam-village/article16343571.ece
21. "An epigraphic perspective on the antiquity of Tamil". The Hindu. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
22. "மாங்குளம் தமிழ்க் கல்வெட்டுக்கள்" (in Tamil). Tamil Virtual University. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
23. "Protected Monuments in Tamil Nadu". Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 25 February 2014. S. No.8 — Ovamalai Kalvettu (inscriptions)
24. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/excavation/kov.htm
25. Approval needed for excavation The Hindu, 28 February 2013
26. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/excavation/kor.htm
27. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/3rd-century-BC-inscription-discovered/articleshow/179977.cms
28. https://www.thehindu.com/2003/09/15/stories/2003091503060500.htm
29. Thenur gold treasure found four years ago is 2300 years' old, recent study reveals
30. S. Krishnarajah (2004). University of Jaffna. Archaeology Department
31. Thiagarajah, Siva (2010). "The people and cultures of prehistoric Sri Lanka – Part Three". The Sri Lanka Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
32. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/excavation/man.htm
33. 2,200-year-old Tamil-Brahmi inscription found on Samanamalai. The Hindu (2012-03-24). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
34. Mahadevan 2003, p. 48 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFMahadevan2003 (help)
35. K. Selvaraj, "Jambai oru aayvu", State Department of Archeology, Chennai
36. http://tamilartsacademy.com/books/roman%20karur/chapter13.html
37. "Tamil Brahmi script in Egypt". The Hindu. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
38. Tamil Inscriptions Archived 2013-01-17 at Archive.today. Archaeologyindia.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
39. . The Hindu (2012-03-24)
40. Subramanian, T. S. (14 February 2013). "Tamil-Brahmi script discovered on Tirupparankundram hill". THEHINDU. Chennai, India.
41. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi/ins1.htm
42. Subramaniam, T. S. (1 May 2006). "From Indus Valley to coastal Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
43. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/excavation/Sembiankandiyur.htm
44. http://www.tnarch.gov.in/excavation/ala.htm

External links

• Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department