Antiquity of Iron: Recent radiometric dates from Tamil Nadu, ▪ archaeological excavations carried out by the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department at Sivagalai, ▪ The antiquity of iron discovered here dating back to the first quarter of the 4th millennium BCE, ▪ an Iron Age habitation-cum-burial site in the Thamirabarani river valley in Thoothukudi district, between 2019 and 2022. ▪ The Iron Age urn burial site called ‘Sivagalai-parambu’, spanning 500 acres, ▪ The paddy sample collected from the urn dated back to 1,155 BCE the archaeologists sent charcoal samples from three other trenches for an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) analysis ▪ Professor Rajan said the Iron Age in ancient Tamil Nadu was contemporary to the Chalcolithic Age (Copper Age) in the Indus Civilisation Tamirabharani – Karumeniyar – Nambiyar River Linking Scheme: ▪ The Tamirabharani – Karumeniyar – Nambiyar River linking scheme will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. ▪ This ambitious project aims to benefit over 15,000 acres in the rain-shadow regions of Tamil Nadu, specifically in Nanguneri, Thisaiyanvilai, and Sattankulam. ▪ The initiative is part of a broader strategy to address water scarcity in the state’s drier areas. ▪ It involves constructing a 73-km-long flood carrier channel. ▪ The goal is to divert surplus water from the Tamirabharani to arid regions in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts
