Kerala State Department of Archaeology is the archaeology department of the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

. It had its origins in the

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

State Archaeology Department which was started in December 1891. It forms a part of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

. The department was formed in 1962 integrating the

Archaeology Department and the Archaeological Research Centre of erstwhile

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. The main functions of the department includes publishing of volumes on stone inscriptions discovered from various places, copying of copper plate inscriptions, conducting

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

and explorations and measures to protect historical monuments dating back to 200 BC onwards which lies scattered in different parts of the state.

Museums

There are 12 museums under the Archaeology Department. * Pazhassi Tomb * Kunjali Marakkar Memorial Museum,

Iringal Iringal is a village in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. History The famous son of Iringal, Kunjali Marakkar, went on to become the trusted admiral and commanded the Zamorins fleet and thwarted the efforts of Portuguese ves ...

* Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum * Archaeological Museum, Thrissur *

Mural Art Museum Mural Art Museum is the only museum dedicated to mural arts in Kerala. It is situated in Kollengode Palace in Thrissur, India. It was started as a part of Sree Mulam Chithrasala (Picture Gallery) in 1938. Afterwards it was an archaeological mus ...

Chendamangalam Synagogue The Chendamangalam Synagogue (Malayalam: ചേന്ദമംഗലം ജൂതപള്ളി) (Hebrew; בית הכנסת צ'נמנגלם) is one of the oldest known synagogues built by the Malabar Jews,in Chendamangalam, a village in the ...

* Hill Palace Museum *

Krishnapuram Palace The Krishnapuram Palace is a palace and museum located in Kayamkulam near Alappuzha in Alappuzha district, Kerala in southwestern India. It was built in the 18th century by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729–1758 CE), the Travancore ki ...

Kottarakkara Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as ''Kottarakara'', is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of the Kerala, India. The town is close to Kollam Port, which has a rich history linked to the early medieval pe ...

Thampuran Memorial Classical Arts Museum * Veluthampi Dalawa Memorial Museum,

Mannadi Mannadi is a village in Kadampanad grama panchayat at Adoor Taluk, Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, India. Location Mannadi is from Kollam and from Adoor. It is equi-distance from Kadampanad and Enath. The nearest airport is Trivandrum ...

* Koyikkal Palace *

Padmanabhapuram Palace Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a Travancore era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by the government of t ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.archaeology.kerala.gov.in State archaeology departments of India Government departments of Kerala History of Kerala

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...