Tamil Nadu Timeline

LiteratureBritish Crown rule

Caldwell's History of Tinnevelly published

· Tirunelveli

Caldwell's History of Tinnevelly published
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The Madras government published Bishop Robert Caldwell's history of Tirunelveli district, drawn from manuscripts, Sangam texts and his own digs.

As Bishop of Tirunelveli, Robert Caldwell undertook original research into the district's past. Alongside his reading of Sangam literature and palm-leaf manuscripts, he conducted several excavations, uncovering the foundations of ancient structures, burial urns and coins stamped with the Pandya fish emblem. This research produced A Political and General History of the District of Tinnevelly. The Government of the Madras Presidency brought the book out in 1881.

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