Punch marked gold coins from Vijayanagara-era unearthed near Jolarpet

Eighty six punch marked gold coins dated to the Vijayanagara-era were found in an iron pot when a group of workers were levelling an open farmland at Sundarampalli village near Jolarpet town in Tirupattur.

Officials of Block Development Office (BDO), Tirupattur, said that the open land belongs to R. Athavan, 55, a farmer. He roped in a group of workers to level the open land for farming purposes. As workers were removing small boulders in the land, they hit a small pot. They found a bunch of gold coins in different sizes and shapes.

Workers informed farmer Athavan about rare coins. The incident happened on December 22. “Athavan did not voluntarily give the treasure to the District Treasury Office. Residents informed government officials and the police about it,” K. Navanitham, Tasildar (Tirupattur), told The Hindu.

Based on alerts from villagers, a team comprising Tahsildar Navanitham, Village Administrative Officer (VAO) S. Murugan, and the Kandali police visited the house of the farmer. Police said that initially Mr. Athavan denied such findings in his land but later handed over an iron pot and gold coins to the team. “Archeologists from Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department (TNSAD) will assess its heritage value before coins are handed over to the district treasury,” said Mr. Navanitham.

Revenue officials also apprised the discovery of coins to Collector K. Siva Soundaravalli, who is the custodian of the district treasury as per the Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878. As per norms, any treasure found one foot under surface belongs to the government under the Act.

Archeologists said that coins of various metals including gold, silver, and copper were made for two reasons. Coins were also minted mainly as a mode of payment for trade.

Archeologists said that gold coins, on an average, will be around five milimetres in size. The gold coins found have the emblem of a pig, an animal depicted by Vijayanagara rulers in various engravings. Coins made during this period will be circular in shape whereas coins in Sangam age are square-shaped, officials said.

This is the second incident of finding gold coins; 103 Vijayanagara era gold coins were unearthed from a Chola-era Shiva temple in Jawadhu Hills in Tiruvannamalai in November.