The ongoing excavations at Tulukkarpatti in Tamil Nadu have revealed an extensive Iron Age industrial site. According to the Pandyan Heritage Weekly, researchers found multiple iron-smelting furnaces, slag heaps, and specialized terracotta tuyeres used for blowing air into the fires.
The discovery suggests that the Tamirabarani river civilization had a highly developed metallurgical industry as early as 600 BCE. The site also yielded several potsherds with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, further cementing the timeline of early literacy in South India.