Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government will take up archaeological excavations in four major sites outside the state in an attempt to rediscover the ancient Tamils' history, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said on Monday.

The sites include Muziris (Pattanam) in Kerala's Ernakulam District, Palur in Odisha, Vengi in Andhra Pradesh, and Maski in Karnataka.

Further, a pilot study to undertake deepsea excavation will be conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Ocean Technology and the Indian Maritime University, in the coastal regions of Korkai and Alagankulam, the ancient ports of the Pandyas, at a cost of Rs. 65 lakh, he said.

Presenting the Budget Estimates for 2024-25 in the Assembly, Thennarasu announced that archaeological excavations would be undertaken at eight locations across Tamil Nadu for a sum of Rs. 5 crore.

He said an open-air museum will be constructed at the Keezhadi excavation site at a cost of Rs. 17 crore to showcase the brick structures, ring wells, and factory zones found in the Keezhadi excavations.

About Rs. 3 crore will be sanctioned for a study using advanced genomic methodologies at the genetics laboratory of the Department of Culture at Madurai Kamaraj University to determine the genetic antiquity, migration patterns, agricultural practices, cultural traditions, and dietary habits of the Tamil people. PTI