On the western side of the Thattekad ferry, and the southern side of the Periyar, a hill is seen. The summit of this hill stands higher than those of the surrounding seven hills, and is not of rock as in the case of the other hills seen in this region, but of earth. The northern side of the hill is steeper than the southern. At present the slopes are covered by teak plantations. This is the ‘Chelamalai’.

Ruins of an old temple near Chelamalai

i) On the southern side, the remnants of a path, around 10 feet wide, cut into the laterite, can be seen at several places. Though there are several breaks in the path due to the forest road passing through the site, it can easily be distinguished. Along the sides of the path, remains of the foundation of a wall can also be seen.

iii) On the eastern side of Chelamalai and on the western side of the Punnekkad - Thattekad road, at the ten km milestone, the exposed portion of an underground structure, resembling a cellar, about six to eight ft. wide and ten ft. long is seen. One side of it is a laterite wall while the other three sides are granite. Only the top of the vertical stone slabs are visible, the rest being buried in the ground. In the middle of this structure, portions of granite slabs, vertically sunk in the ground, are seen. This could have been a tomb. During a recent ditch-digging exercise by the telephone dept., the side of this road opposite to the above-mentioned structure was dug up. Exactly opposite this presumable tomb, were found several large earthen jars or pots. Called
Nanangadis, these are burial containers for people, used during the BC 2000 to AD 500 period. The pots, all except for one were in pieces, the exception having been intact as the workmen had dug around it exposing only half of the jar in the ditch. The jar was around 4 feet high with an approximate mouth radius of 25 to 30 cm. The jars had overturned rims that had some sort of simple, regular design on them. This area could have been a cemetery, as the Nanangadis were found in perfect rows, of the Cheras who lived in the Chelamalai region.

iv) On the north western side of Chelamalai a stone-paved path, six ft. wide,from the top of the hill to the river at the bottom, is seen. This path has steps in certain parts, and both sides are packed with uncut stones.

v) From the top of the hill along the southern side, remains of a pathway, 15 to 20 ft. wide, built with by stone packing on both sides is seen. Remains of this veritable road stretching for about half a km can be seen.

vi) At the top of the hill, remains of large compound walls like that of a fort, surround the summit of the hill in concentric circles. Uncut sandstones lie scattered all over the hill, giving the impression of massive destruction, natural or otherwise, of the construction that was presumably here.

Local people inform that several years ago this area was ploughed - using elephants- in search of treasure. In the process the ruins in the area were disturbed, most likely destroyed completely, due to the ignorance of the treasure-seeker, of the historical importance of the area. The area has undergone teak planting and several other agricultural activities. During the course of farming all the structures will have been demolished for planting teak and other intermittent crops like ginger, tapioca, paddy etc. Hence all the structures will have disappeared. The people who have farmed here have seen remains of wells, building foundations, roads etc.

Chelamalai is believed to be the “Vanchinagaram” or “Vanchi” of AD first century, which was the capital of the early Chera Kingdom. The ruins of roads, pathways, wells, fort, cemetery etc. lead towards this conclusion. The central location of Chelamalai also makes it a suitable site for a ruling capital. The ruins of several temples located within a 10 km radius of Chelamalai clearly indicate the importance of the area and the human population that once existed here. What reason can be there for the signs of such a massively populated area other than it being a centre of some sort, and coupled with the extensive fort complex on the hill it implies this region was a capital.

Presently the location of Vanchi is a highly disputed question. The answers range from Karavur near the banks of the Amaravati in Tamil Nadu, to near Kodungalloor, to Thrikariyoor near Kothamangalam. The noted historian V. Kanakasabhai states that present-day Thrikariyoor is the location of Vanchi, but according to the `Pathitipathu’ (a famous anthology of Tamil poems of the Sangam age) VI.3, Vanchi is situated on the summit of a tall hill encircled by forest. In view of the above information cannot Chelamalai be a viable candidate for the location of Vanchi, moreover it is close to Thrikariyoor thus not completely denying Kanakasabhai’s theory either. A detailed investigation and study of the
area is required.

Each stone found in Chelamalai will probably have a story to tell of a bygone era.