Two Soils
இரு மண் · Keezhadi and Chemmani
One excavation near Madurai asks how long Tamils have lived. One in Jaffna asks how Tamils died. This page compares them only as a question of evidence method: who digs, who writes the report, who holds it, and which court opens it. It takes no side on Keezhadi's dating and makes no territorial claim.
| Question | Keezhadi · கீழடி | Chemmani · செம்மணி |
|---|---|---|
| What the soil holds | An ancient urban settlement on the Vaigai, about 12 km from Madurai (Sivaganga district). | Human remains in a mass grave at Chemmani–Sindupathy, Jaffna. |
| Who excavated | The Archaeological Survey of India (phases I–II, 2014–16), then the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology. | Excavation under the direction of the Jaffna Magistrate's Court. |
| The report | A 982-page report on phases I–II submitted in January 2023. In 2025 the ASI asked for it to be rewritten, citing the dating of Period I. | Forensic and excavation reports still awaited. Reported totals differ between outlets (572 and 583 at last reading). |
| The local court | The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court heard petitions on the excavation and on publishing the report. | The Jaffna Magistrate is the lawful trigger for international forensic safeguards. Next fixed date: 14 October. |
The dating dispute, recorded not decided
The excavator dated Period I to the 8th–5th century BCE. The ASI asked for "concrete justification" of that bracket. Carbon dating from 2017 placed the settlement at about 200 BCE. This archive records the disagreement and the institutions involved; it does not rule on the science.
Why they sit together
In both cases the earth has spoken and the fight is over who may publish what it said. Keezhadi shows a local court being used to push a withheld report toward publication. Chemmani is still waiting at that step. See the Chemmani Institute File.
Boundaries. Never "Keezhadi proves Eelam". No claim that any place belongs to anyone. No count is aggregated here; figures are reported as each source states them.