Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c21.s15.1

c21.s15.1

Since the publication of the *Corpus 1966*, more cave inscriptions have been discovered and a vast new field has opened up with the discovery of pottery inscriptions in Tamil-Brāhmī from explorations or excavations of a large number of ancient sites, and of coins, seals and rings inscribed in this script. As mentioned earlier, corrections and modifications suggested by later researchers to the readings and interpretations in the *Corpus 1966* have been accumulating. The *Corpus* itself has long been out of print, and there has been a persistent demand for a revised and enlarged edition incorporating corrections and additions. However, I felt that merely revising the published material with additions and corrections would not be adequate and that the time had come for a completely new edition based on a fresh study of all the cave inscriptions *in situ* with a new set of tracings, published along with the best available photographs of estampages. Revised readings and interpretations of the inscriptions would be based on a reappraisal of their chronology, and palaeographic and linguistic features in the light of new developments in the field. A second field expedition was led by me with these objectives.