A signet made of clay with ornamental design was among the about 3,000 ancient artefacts found at the Keezhadi Pallai Sandhaipudur village in this district during an excavation conducted by a team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India.

According to ASI officials, the ancient settlement at the village, which was once on the highway travelled by traders all over the world, had an underground drainage system which was on par with the Harappan system.

The sewage drains had been laid with “baked clay pipe lines”.

“The drainage system is similar to what was found in Harappan civilisation site,” they said.

The officials claimed that the settlement was more than 2,500 years old, belonging to the ancient Pandiyan era.