Deciphering Ancient Tamil Epigraphy: A Deep Learning Approach for Vatteluttu Script Recognition

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Internet Services and Information Security

Abstract

Vatteluttu (Vattezhuthu) script, prevalent between the 3rd and 8th century CE, played a crucial role in documenting early Chola and Pandya history. However, despite its historical significance, thousands of inscriptions remain untranslated, hindering a comprehensive understanding of early South Indian heritage. This research addresses these challenges by developing a deep learning-based approach for digitizing and recognizing Vatteluttu characters. Using a dataset of 1,800 segmented images representing 28 characters, the study integrates advanced preprocessing techniques and a Siamese CNN-RNN architecture to classify ancient scripts with an overall accuracy of 98%. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of automated transcription for ancient scripts, offering a robust framework for preserving and enhancing research on South Indian heritage.

First Page

451

Last Page

467

DOI

10.58346/JISIS.2025.I1.030

Publication Date

2-1-2025

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