Chennai, May 3 (IANS): Excavations at Vembakottai in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu have unearthed an ancient terracotta lamp, which according to archaeologists is an intrinsically decorated one.

Archaeologists who were part of the excavation told IANS that this was the first lamp that they have collected as a full and complete piece while fragments of such terracotta lamps were unearthed earlier.

Tamil Nadu state archaeology department has been carrying out exploration at Mettukadu in Vijayakarisalkulam panchayat from March 14 onwards in four trenches.

The fifth trench has commenced a few days ago and during then, the archaeologists found a terracotta lamp.

Pon Baskar, the excavation director from the state archaeology department, told IANS: "This is the first time a full lamp was unearthed from a trench and we are expecting more such materials in the coming days."

R. Balachandran, a retired banker and an archaeology enthusiast told IANS: "I am an enthusiast of archaeology and have found some compelling evidence during my amateur studies. I have been relentlessly pursuing with the state government to order a detailed study at Mettukadu and now this has happened. The unearthing of a full-sized terracotta lamp is a treasure and in the days to come such treasures will be unearthed from this place."