Chennai: A 2,000-year-old Tamil Brahmi-inscribed hero stone was found in Appanur village in Ramanathapuram. Epigraphists say the writings on the stone could belong to 1st century BCE, making it one of the earliest Tamil Brahmi-inscribed hero stones in the state.The inscription was engraved on the quartz stone in three lines, and the script is legible.It reads “appanur eri mandu vizhuntha atthiyan kiran kal”. It means the stone was erected in the memory of Kiran, son of Aththiyan, who fought against Apannur and died.“This is the first time we found a Tamil Brahmi-inscribed hero stone in Ramanathapuram district. It is very difficult to write on this stone. Only a highly skilled craftsman could have engraved these letters,” said C Santhalingam, secretary, Pandyanadu Centre for Historical Research.“This is a landmark discovery; it is evidence of the early writing system that existed 2,000 years back in Pandya region,” he added.Muniyasamy, a teacher from Peraiyur near Kamuthi, found the inscription at Ariyanachhi Amman temple in Appanur village.Senior epigraphist Y Subbarayalu said the Tamil Brahmi inscription has developed characters and could belong to 1st century BCE. “Earliest Tamil Brahmi discoveries like Mangulam inscriptions near Madurai belong to 2nd century BCE. This one might have been inscribed slightly later,” he said.Another hero stone with ancient Tamil Brahmi inscriptions was found in Pulimankombai in Theni district, which was considered from 3rd century BCE. “For the first time, we have found an inscription on a quartz rock. They could have used a sharp chisel to engrave these letters,” said professor K Rajan, academic and research adviser to the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology.
