Archaeology studies the story of man’s past through his material remains. The word archaeology comes from the Greek word'Archaios' – Ancient and 'logos' – theory or science.Archaeology is essentially a method of reconstructing the past from the surviving traces of former societies. Both archaeology...

Excavations

One of the major activities of the Department is to carry out archaeological excavations in historically important sites in Tamil Nadu. So far, the Department conducted excavation at 40 sites and of which 36 excavation reports were brought in book form.
The excavated sites are as follows.... Read More

Under Water Archaeology

Under Water Archaeological survey has been carried out in coordination with National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, in four phases; a shipwreck and other important artefacts were found in the Poompuhar region of Nagapattinam District. Further efforts are on to carry out this survey through... Read More

Site Museums

The valuable antiquities that have been unearthed from excavation are preserved and exhibited for the benefit of the scholars, researchers and the public in the following 14 archaeological site museums of this department Read More