Pot with Handles Discovered in the Keezhadi Excavation
Pot with Handles Discovered in the Keezhadi Excavation
A pottery vessel with handles has been discovered during the excavations at Keezhadi. This vessel originally had handles on both sides, but one of the handles was damaged, so it was unearthed with only one handle intact. Even today, among the cooking utensils we use, there are vessels with handles on both sides to make lifting easier, aren’t there? Such a vessel, known as a “double-eared” (two-handled) pot, was already being used by our ancestors around 2,500 years ago.
In Sangam literature, pottery vessels are referred to by the following names:
- Uri (உறி)
- Mandai (மண்டை)
- Kuzhisi (குழிசி)
- Thasumbu (தசும்பு)
- Panai (பானை)
- Karagam (கரகம்)
Although today we might treat all of these terms as referring generally to a “pot,” there may have been subtle distinctions between them in ancient times. This two-handled vessel may well have represented one such specific type of pottery.
In earlier excavations, pottery shards inscribed with names such as Athan and Kuviran were discovered. This practice is also recorded in the Silappathikaram:
“Vamba makkal thampēyar poriththa
Kaṇṇeḻuththup paduttha eṇṇup pal-pothi”
(Silappathikaram, lines 111–112)
This passage indicates that people engraved their names on objects as a form of identification. In the same way, the handled vessel may also have had a specific name.
Sangam literature should therefore be re-examined in light of archaeological evidence, with literary sources and excavation findings studied together to gain a deeper understanding of ancient Tamil culture and material life.
Translation by Hari
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