A few days after an ‘antique’ gold chain was unearthed from a water body near Tirupattur, district officials have informed the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) and are expecting them to visit the spot.
Earlier this week, workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme had found a gold chain while they were dredging and deepening a water body in Palnankuppam village. The site is located near the Yelagiri foothill, four to five km away from Tirupattur.
The workers first informed the local body representatives and then officials of the Tirupattur revenue administration.
On Thursday, K. Saravanan, curator of the Government Museum, Vellore inspected the spot and also analysed the chain. He said whether an ornament was antique was determined by its design, depth of finding and quality of metal.
“This chain weighs nearly 500 grams and is nearly 80 cm long. On analysis, we found that it is an antique based on the workmanship and quality of the gold,” he said.
Of Vijayanagara era
He said the gold was almost dark yellowish in colour and bore no resemblance to the present day gold. “This kind of gold was used in ornaments worn during the Vijayanagara period (from 14th to 17th century). If we look at sculptures from the Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara period, those from the Vijayanagara period have plenty of ornaments like these worn by emperor Krishnadevaraya,” he said.
He added that the chain had a floral design, was embedded with stones and had a pendant. “Another factor that determined that the chain was an antique jewel is the depth at which it was found. The water body is nearly six feet deep and the chain was found when the workers had removed the silt from 1 to 1.5 feet deep,” he said.
Based on the design of the pendant, it could have been worn by a man but this was an assumption, he stated.
The chain was handed over to the treasury at Tirupattur. “We are preparing a report that will be submitted to the district Collector and Director of Museums,” he said.
J.U. Chandrakala, sub-collector of Tirupattur, said they have informed ASI about the finding. “We are waiting for them to visit and search the spot for more antique materials,” she said. The official said when police went to the spot the day after the workers found the ornament, villagers had handed over some more small pieces of the chain.
“The chain consists of four layers and a dollar. A big stone embedded on the pendant is missing. Police are conducting inquiry to clarify if someone had taken it or if the stone was missing when the chain was found,” she added.
