Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s14.t4.6
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s14.t4.6
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c20.s14.t4.6
About 170 inscriptions on pottery, mostly from Period I and incised on russet-coated and black and red ware, have been recovered, the maximum number so far from an ancient Tamil site.² The language of the inscriptions is mostly Tamil; only two or three seem to be in Prakrit and one in Sinhala-Prakrit.³ One of the inscribed sherds with the name *visākī* (fem.) was found inside a megalithic grave.⁴ Two remarkable features of writing at this site are the juxtaposition of Tamil-Brāhmī letters and megalithic symbols within the same inscriptions⁵ and a very distinctive angular or rectilinear style of writing seldom found at other sites.