A report was released by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) titles: "Antiquity of iron: Recent Radiometric dates from Tamil Nadu"

Report findings:

• Tamil Nadu was among the first places on earth, where smelted iron was used.
• The Iron age perhaps began at least a millennium earlier than the prevailing research suggests

This marked a major transition in technology, economy and culture

Iron age is often associated with megalithic traditions.

One of the key practices involved urn burials, where skeletal remains were interred along with iron weapons and other artefacts.

Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu, along the porunai river (thamirabarani river's old name)

Excavated by the British archaeologist Alexander Rea between 1899 and 1905, yielded largest collection of antiquities from a single site.

A copper alloy female figurine uncannily resembling the terracotta female mother goddess figurine from the harappan repertoire.

Iron age in Tamil Nadu , generally dated to around 1200 - 500 BCE, done by stratigraphic (study of rock layers to interpret geologic time scale)

The iron age was distinguished from the early historic period through artefacts such as punch marked sangam era and roman coins

Urn burial of sivagalai, located near adichanallur , tracing as late as 4th millennium BCE.

Iron in India to around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE.

The Hittites, an ancient Anatolian civilisation (1600 - 1178 BCE) from present day Turkiye, often credited with early knowledge of iron production.

Middle Hittite records also mention Anbar Ge, which is thought to refer to iron from sky or meteoritic iron.

Iron rarely occurs in metallic form on earth, but only as iron oxides (haematite), metallic iron is primarily found in meteorites that have fallen to earth.

The use of meteoritic iron is identifiable due to its high nickel content.

A well documented example of meteoritic iron is a dagger found in the tomb of Tutankhamun (died in 1323 BCE), have a nickel content of about 105.

Egyptian beads have also been discovered

It is said that, the Gebel Kamil meteorite, struck the Egypt around 3000 BCE

Over 200 hittite texts reference iron, records from Assyrian merchants indicate that by the 13th century BCE, iron from the Hittites was highly sought after by Assyrian kings.

Since extracting metallic iron from ores (smelting) is more complex than extracting copper, the iron age followed the advent the copper smelting in most parts of the ancient world.

Extraction of copper from its ores required smelting temperatures of approximately 1200 degree celsius, at which point the ore would become molten.

To produce harder and more durable tools, tin was alloyed with copper, creation of bronze, which replaced the copper during Bronze age.

Iron smelting is more complex due to high melting point of around 1500 degree celsius to form a fluid iron slag and an extremely high ratio (at least 1000:1) of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. To satisfy both conditions, the following are required:

• process for producing charcoal from wood in quantity
• Bellows and tuyeres to provide a strong air blast that can fore charcoal to burn sufficiently rapidly to reach at least 1200 degree celsius.
• This is well above the temperature used to fire domestic earthenware pottery (800 - 900 degree celsius)
• The ability to maintain the delicate balance between a reaction that produces heat and reaction that absorbs heat. This balance is very difficult to achieve.

Knowledge of copper smelting was pre requisite for mastering iron smelting. This suggests a logical technological sequence from the copper and bronze to the iron age - rather than a direct leap from neolithic to the iron age.

It was thought likely that iron was introduced into the Indian subcontinent by the turn of the first millennium BCE via the northwest land route.

No known evidence of meteoritic iron use in ancient south India, absence of major meteoritic iron deposits in the region.

No significant amount of nickel, indicating they are smelted iron. Consequently, the iron age of Tamil Nadu is defined by adoption of smelted iron rather than meteoritic iron.

North western and Northern India, after the decline of the bronze age harappan civilisation, chalcolithic cultures with copper based tools and weapons continued too thrive. Findings in Doab, sites excavated Sinauli and at Ahar in Rajasthan.

Availability of mineral deposits, and copper ores is far greater than in southern India. Aravallis and Khetri region of Rajasthan and the eastern Singbhum belt.

Iron ores are abundantly available in the south, unlike copper base minerals.

Site in Malhar in the Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh date to 1800 - 1000 BCE with discoveries of iron artefacts and slag debris from iron smelting.

Archaeologist Prof. David Killick, reports that, "iron was definitely used in Tamil Nadu by 1300 BCE (from cereal based dates)" and dates on charcoala from Kilnamandi and Mayiladumparai of about 1850 - 1600 BCE

Mature harappan period dating from 2600 - 1900 BCE, a bronze age civilisation where iron was not in vague.

Knowledge of mining, bloomery iron smelting, and smithing is something that has been carried forward not by urbanised elites but by itinerant and forest dwelling tribal or indigenous communities such as Agarias and Asurs in the eastern India or the Kotas and Kurumbas in the Nilgiris in the southern India.

Urn burial tradition seen at Porunai sites, also has the harappan roots.

Harappa in Pakistan, contained bones of deceased, of red glazed ware and red ware urns with lids. .

'Dish on stand motif', supported lidded urns found at Sivagalai and Adichanallur with those found at Harappa in Pakistan.

Copper chisels from the harappan repertoire also have trapezoidal celt like shapes similar to the iron age ones such as from sivagalai and also those more widely known from the Gangetic copper hoard material.

Adichanallur copper alloy of mother goddess, resembles female terracotta figurines with the same kind of headdress and waist band.

Small copper alloy animal figurines found, resembel harappan motifs, such as small dog (found in terracotta in the harappa repertoire), fish motifs, ibex or antelope with backward sloping horns very similar to the depiction in the famed Indus Pashupati seal.

Copper smelting, known from Mehrgarh period II by 4000 BCE in pre harappan Baluchistan in the north west of the Indian sub continent. This is also region wher Brhui, a northern dravidian language is still spoken.

Recent study in Nature of february 2025, trace the genetic origin of the earliest Indo Europeans to the Yamnaya of the Steppes. Early languages of the harappan regions were perhaps more likely to be related.

To strengthen notions of movement of harappa culture cultural facets into Tamil Nadu where the dravidian language of Tamil prevails.

Maritime connections are well documented between the harappan and mesopotamia, southern Tamil Nadu was reached via sea route

Many essential urn burial sites are found mainly in southern Tamil nadu, but less so further north in Deccan.

Manifestations of iron further northwards into neolithic southern, Indian southern went to south Tamil Nadu.

Use of iron flights, facilitated the shaping and creation of megaliths from harder stones such a granulite and granite.

With respect to the sea routes, the mention in the Roman Pliny's Natural History (1st century) of the place of Tabropane, can be the coastal of Tamil Nadu, pre existing hubs along the Thamiirabarani, which is colloquially called Thamrapayani.

The consensus among the archaeometallurgists that iron smelting technology was slowly developed from copper smelting technology in Anatolia between 2000 BCE and 1200 BCE, after which it spread throughout Eurasia and Africa.

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)

Radio carbon ages must be converted to ranges of calendar ages by comparison with master calibration curve compiled by dating tree rings of known ages from American bristle cone pines.

Calibrated radio carbon dates are always ranges of years, they should never be quoted as single year.

Tamil Nadu samples: Calibrated age ranges from 1197 - 835 BCE, 1368 - 1110 BCE and 1506 - 1304 BCE. They establish that iron was used in Tamil Nadu by at least 1300 BCE, the same time that iron was coming into common use in the Hittite state of Anatolia.

A blade from Mangadu site gave a calibrated range 1604 - 416 BCE

An arrowhead from Thelunganur dates to 1109 - 909 BCE

High carbon steel sword from Thelunganur was 1435 - 1233 BCE

Second sample from Thelanganur sword returned a date of 2900 - 2627 BCE

Sample from Kilnamandi stone lines grave was dated to 1866 - 1615 BCE

The earliest copper smelting in western asia and eastern europe is dated to around 5000 BCE, the earliest iron to around 2000 BCE.

It took around 3000 years for metal workers in this region to develop the additional expertise needed to smelt iron.

Excavations in an iron age site called Mayiladumparai in Krishnagiri district in 2022, proved that Tamil Nadu was in the iron age 4200 years ago.

The biggest challenge in deciphering the Indus script in the absence of bilingual inscriptions. Indus lacks a comparable reference.

Indus Valley script is seen on tiny engravings such as on their seals, which is only 1 cm long and the motif itself takes up most of the area

It is yet to be determined, whether the writing is from right to left or left to right.

The findings from Thulukarpatti and Manalur Kottai, also strongly indicate that Tamil Nadu was an active participant in long distance trade with regions as far as Indus valley.

Keezhadi, exhibits many significant similarities with IVC (3300 - 1300 BCE) in urban planning, trade activities, agriculture and connectivity. It belongs to the sangam age civilisation (3000 BCE - 300 CE)

The symbols found on the pottery also gives a remarkable similarities.

Name 'Aadhan', found inscribed on a potsherd (pottery), found at another excavationo site, suggests continuity in language and culture.

The Tamil Nadu government sanctioned a open air museum at Keezhadi. Visitors will be able to walk through the excavation site and experience the discoveries first hand.

November 2025

India’s archaeological community commemorated 100 years of Harappan archaeology and research, which began by acknowledging and announcing the findings from the excavation at Harappa in 1924.

The Iron Age findings in South India, the cultural horizon at Keeladi, and the contested interpretations of Sinauli findings have all met with skepticism.

For a long time, the absence of evidence has been treated as the absence of history. And when new evidence finally appears, it is often resisted more than it is examined.

Sinauli excavation site

• Burial Pit 3 at Sinauli excavation site, roughly 65 km from Delhi, with legged coffins and a plethora of pottery. ![obsidian|200][photo_2025-11-19_09-27-04.jpg] ![obsidian|300][photo_2025-11-19_09-30-42.jpg]
• The buried treasures came to life in the summer of 2005 when the site was subjected to rigorous and systematic excavation by DV Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Spanning 13 months in 2005–06, the excavation yielded 116 burials.
• A majority of these were extended burials, with complete skeletal remains laid down in an extended position.
• The second most common type was secondary burials, where the remains were initially buried elsewhere and were reburied at the site.
• There were also symbolic burials, which included artefacts and pottery, but lacked human remains.
• Double and triple burials were also reported from the site.
• The site showcased Late Harappan elements in association with the Copper Hoard/OCP (Ochre Coloured Pottery) cultural milieu, the latter represented by antennae swords found in many burials during the excavation.
• The excavators dated the site and excavated remains to 2200 BCE to 1800 BCE.
• Although it is generally labelled ‘Late Harappan’, the site has certain overlapping traits with the Mature Harappan phase.

The lack of scientific dates prompted the second round of excavations in 2018, 12 years after Sinauli was first investigated.

In March 2017-18, Sanjay and Arvind Manjul were excavating at Barnawa, located in the same district and also decided to take a small dig at Sinauli site to obtain samples for dating and other scientific analysis.

By April, it was clear for them that the excavation has exceeded their expectations. The new excavation yielded eight burials, including three coffins, three chariots, copper, antiquities, objects, and most importantly, weapons such as daggers, swords, and a hilted antenna sword.

In the following year, Manjul's excavation in the area yielded two more burials with legged coffins and a brick wall structure. The highlight of this excavation was the legged coffins covered with steatite and copper inlays. One comprised a lid with decorated anthropomorphic figures. The site also had three chariots decorated with copper inlays, a brick chamber in the burial complex, furnaces in the east, and an array of weaponry from the burials.

The two burial pits presented slightly different stories.

The first one reflected the life of an affluent person with two chariots and a large coffin covered in copper. They must have had a high cost. Moreover, a copper chalice with a tortoise base was found at the bottom of the coffin along with silver and electron specters at the top.

Another crucial piece of evidence was the hilted antenna swat found in a symbolic burial. This was the first time an antenna swat, which is known to have been a part of the copper heart tradition, was found with the hilt.

Decades ago Paul Yule examined many copper hoards implements and found no evidence that could decode their use so he labeled all the antenna swords as ritualistic.

One of the reasons behind this was the absence of Hilt. But at Sinauli, the only sword with the hilt was found, which put these implements out of ritualistic label and made them functional. This raises the question: Did all antenna swords ever found have wooden hilt but lacked a copper wired cover which was found at Sinauli.

The burials are now dateable to 2200-1800 BCE. However, the only change Manjul's notice was the cultural affiliation. Unlike the first excavators, Manjul was of the opinion that Sinauli was an OCP/Copper Hoard Site, a cultural milieu concentrated in the Yamuna-Ganga Doab, and a contemporary of the Harappans.

Manjuls strongly opposed its Late Harappan tag. According to them, the time bracket (2200-1800 BCE) falls within the Mature Harappan bracket (2600-1900 BCE) and not the Late Harappan bracket (1900-1500 BCE).

He strongly opposed its Late Harappan tag. According to them, the time bracket (2200-1800 BCE) falls within the Mature Harappan bracket (2600-1900 BCE) and not the Late Harappan bracket (1900-1500 BCE).

The 2014 discovery of a copper crown and an antenna sword at Chandayan and recent excavations at Tilwara (located near Sinauli) only suggest a beginning and not the end. Print