Arikamedu – An ancient port

Dr Uday Dokras

Throughout history the Indian Subcontinent has had

extensive commercial links with regions to the west through both overland and
maritime trade. Many sources dating as far back as the 1st millennium BCE
attest to trade between Western Asian and the west coast of the Indian
Subcontinent and it is believed that the Babylonians used teak and
cedar woods imported from the Indian Subcontinent as early as the 7th and
6th centuries BCE. Much later, merchants from the South of the Arabian
Peninsula embarked on extensive maritime trade with the Indian
Subcontinent supplying goods from the region to the Mediterranean and
Western Asia. During the Roman period close contact between these regions
and the Indian Subcontinent intensified, with the Emperor Augustus receiving
two embassies, most likely trade missions, from the Indian Subcontinent
around 21- 25 BCE. These commercial links typically reached Northern India
overland and Peninsula India via maritime routes. However, much less is
known about maritime contact with the eastern coast of the
Indian Subcontinent compared to the western coast during the same period.  
One site which has provided considerable insight into Silk Roads contacts on
the south eastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent
is Arikamedu, an archaeological site located in Southern India close to the city
Puducherry on the banks of the Ariyankuppam river. Arikamedu was an Indo-
Roman trading city and one of the earliest known Indo-
Pacific bead making centres. The site was mentioned in the Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea an anonymous Greco-Roman text of the 1st century CE
which described the known coastal landmarks and ports of
the Indian Subcontinent’s coastline. Here Arikamedu was referred to by the
Roman name ‘Poduke’, appearing again as ‘Poduke emporion’ in
Ptolemy’s atlas Geographia in the mid-1st century CE. 

Excavations at the site have uncovered substantial evidence of a Roman

trading settlement including amphorae, lamps, glassware, coins, beads made
of stone, glass and gold, and gems. Based on these finds it appears the
settlement engaged in considerable trade with the Roman and later Byzantine
world during an extensive period from the 2nd century BCE to the 8th century
CE. In addition to this trade Arikamedu was also a centre of manufacture in its
own right producing textiles, particularly the cotton
fabric muslin, jewellery, stone, glass, and gold beads (for which the settlement
was particularly renowned). Many distinctive wares have been
uncovered which clearly pre-date Roman exchange including products made
locally such as shells, beads and pottery indicating a flourishing local craft
tradition before the arrival of foreign influences. Some of the most significant
finds from this site of Silk Roads exchange include Indo-Pacific beads, red and
black ceramics, and large stones used to mark graves, all of which pre-date its
history as a trading post.  

The considerable amount of pottery that has been uncovered at Arikamedu can

be categorised into three different types, ‘Arretine’ ware named for the Roman
city Arezzo in Tuscany where it was produced and imported, amphorae, and
rouletted ware, a decorative pottery characterised by an engraved rim on a grey
or black surface covered in spiral linear patterns. The rouletted ware has been
the subject of much study as later excavations in the 1990s
demonstrated that, contrary to earlier scholarship which believed rouletted
ware to have been imported from the West, this pottery was actually
produced locally, if not at Arikamedu itself then somewhere in South Asia.
Despite these findings, the rouletted ware found at Arikamedu often reveals a
distinctive foreign influence, most likely from its contacts with Rome, which
was blended with local styles. Additionally, it is possible that craftsmen from
the Roman world lived and worked at workshops in Arikamedu as two
gemstones called intaglio (a distinctive style of engraved gem and major luxury
art form in the Ancient World) featuring designs frequently used by Greco-
Roman gem cutters have been uncovered at the site. 

Sites such as Arikamedu attest to the ways in which exchange between the

Roman world and the Indian Subcontinent was multifaceted and allowed for
transfers in multiple directions both West-East and East-West. A relationship
that began with commercial trade also allowed for a great interaction and
transfusion of skills and culture from one region to another particularly in
terms of pottery, gem cutting, and stone bead production, allowing what were
distant communities to share various elements of craft culture and enriching
both societies considerably.  https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/did-you-
know-port-trade-centre-arikamedu-and-roman-exchange-indian-subcontinent

In his article, The Linkage Between Garnets Found in India at the Arikamedu
Archaeological Site and Their Source at the Garibpet Deposit,H. Albert Gilg and
Ulrich Schüssler et al state that the archaeological site of Arikamedu, located
in Tamil Nadu State on the east coast of India, was the centre for many
centuries of a significant bead-producing industry. Beads were made of both
glass and stone, including garnet, but the source of the garnet rough material
has not been confirmed. To probe this question, garnet beads found at
Arikamedu were compared with rough material from the Garibpet deposit,
located approximately 640 km away in Telangana State, east of the city of
Hyderabad, India. Samples from the two localities exhibited substantial
correlation.
Satellite image showing the location of Arikamedu, ©Google Earth

Ports Of The Ancient Indian Ocean

EDITOR – Marie-Françoise Boussac, Jean-François Salles, and Jean-Baptiste
Yon primus books

BY COLINELEFRANCQ · PUBLISHED 21/09/2020 · UPDATED 09/11/2020

Historical ports may be found where ancient civilizations have developed
maritime trade.
One of the world's oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red
Sea.[1] Along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also
been found.
Guangzhou[2] was an important port during the ancient times as far back as
the Qin Dynasty.
Canopus was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation
of Alexandria.
Athens' port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet and this played a
crucial role in the Battle of Salamis against the Achaemenid Empire in 480 BC.
Port of Chittagong has been a recorded seaport since the 4th century BCE. In
the 2nd century, the harbor appeared on Ptolemy's map, drawn by
the Claudius Ptolemy. The map mentions the harbor as one of the finest in the
Eastern world. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea documents trade between
Chittagong and private merchants from Roman Egypt.
Port of Messina in Sicily 1573

Lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley
civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarat. Lothal
was one of the southern most cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. The port
was constructed around 2200 BCE and is believed to be world's earliest
known dock.
Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established
by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia.
Messina, sited on the Strait of Messina, also has a history as an ancient port.
In East Africa, Post-classical Swahili kingdoms are known to have had trade
port islands and trade routes[6] with the Islamic world and Asia. They were
described by Greek historians as "metropolises".Famous East African trade
ports such as Mombasa, Zanzibar, Mogadishu and Kilwa[8] were known to
Chinese sailors such as Zheng He and medieval Islamic historians such as the
Berber Islamic voyager Abu Abdullah ibn Battuta.
During the Edo period, the island of Dejima was the only port open for trade
with Europe and only received the Portuguese and Dutch traders,due to their
historical relations, whereas Osaka was the largest domestic port and the main
trade hub for rice.
7 Ancient Sea Ports of India
By Shamseer Mambra | In: Marine Ports | Last Updated on October 19, 2021
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The history of India’s maritime trade goes back to centuries ago. India has been
one of the most important points of sea trade in the entire South Asian region
since the beginning of maritime trade. The maritime tradition of ancient India
begins with the Indus Valley civilization which saw long-distance maritime
voyages by 2900 BCE. Long before the development of the Silk Road, the ships
belonged to Indian traders travelled thousands of miles crossing the Indian
Ocean and the Arabian Sea to find their markets in the West Asia, East Asia,
South East Asia and East Africa. Similarly, merchants from these regions,
especially Arabians and Chinese frequently visited the Indian Subcontinent,
trading silk, spices, porcelain, ivory and even slaves.
As the ocean trade flourished in the region, more maritime trade links were
built connecting the sub-continent with the Roman Empire in the earlier times
and other regions of Europe in the following period, long before the Colonial
period. As its peninsular location made it apt for trade though marine routes, it
also led to the establishment of a number of ports across the region during very
early times. With having a coastline covering thousands of kilometres, the
continent, which is one of the biggest peninsulas in the world, featured busiest
ports of that time. Here is a list of some of the oldest ports in India that helped
it to earn a respectable position in the global maritime industry even before the
colonial rule.
The ancient ports of India:-S. Muthiah

The Guide to the Red Sea, its title in translation, is an anonymous Greek
merchant’s tale of his voyage from the Greek port of Piraeus to the ports
of the Red Sea, which is the Red Sea itself and all seas beyond it to the
mouth of the Ganges. It was a journey by sea to Alexandria, by land to
Heliopolis (Cairo), by boat 300 miles up the Nile and then by camel to the
ports of Myos Hormos or the much bigger Berenike, then onwards.
Written in 60 AD, it is considered the last word on the ports of India of
that period.
Listing those ports by their present-day names the author Narasiah
underlined their mention in Sangam literature and Tamil classics like
the Silappathikaram. Some of these ports/hinterlands are: Barygaza —
Bharuch; Syrastrene — Saurashtra; Suppara — Soppara; Muziris —
Pattanam; Colchi — Korkai; Camera – Puhar (Poompuhar); Poduca —
Puducherry; Sopatama — Marakkanam; Maisolia — Masulipatnam; and
Dasarna — Orissa.

Two things emerged from this narration. Firstly, the traders from Rome
and Greece monopolised trade with the West coast of India, especially in
the Gujarat region with its ports of Bharuch and others in Saurashtra,
and Musiris (Pattanam near Cranganore) in Kerala, considered part of
Damarica (Tamizhagam). Indian traders did not sail westwards. It was
only those from the East coast who went overseas, sailing from the
Coromandel and Kalinga coasts. The western trade focused on horses
and wine one way; pepper, textiles and ivory the other.

Mamallapuram was not a port as usually claimed; Marakkanam was the

port. It’s quite possible that Mamallapuram was not a port in the 1AD,
but natural geographies change over the years and Mamallapuram could
well have become or developed as a harbour by the 6th Century; after all,
Musiris gave way to Cochin centuries later. But then, much of history is
debatable in this fashion.

A bridge in
between
With a bit of time on my hands these days, one of the things I’m doing is
revising a couple of books of mine for new editions, one of them, Madras
Rediscovered, getting ready for its eighth. And, while I worked on it, I
came across a passage that talked of the Maraimalaiadigal Bridge in
Saidapet that was built anew and opened in 1966.
This bridge replaced the Marmalong (Mambalam) Bridge, built through
the munificence of Armenian merchant Coja Petrus Uscan in 1726,
replacing the causeway that was there, to make access to Little Mount
and St Thomas’ Mount easier. Of the causeway, I’ve seen an illustration
I’m unable to trace now, but I offer today three paintings of the first
bridge done at different times by British artists who were in Madras —
William Hodges, the first professional British landscape artist to come to
India, did his work in 1783, William Daniell in 1820 and Justinian Gantz
in the 1840s. All look remarkably alike, the bridge virtually the same and
not a wooden one, as some have claimed it to be.
My question today is did Uscan’s bridge remain unchanged till the new
one was built or were changes made to it before the 1966 bridge came
up? There must be a PWD engineer somewhere out there old enough to
tell me what the bridge looked like before 1966. Or could The
Hindu’s archives help with a picture?
When a coin’s not a coin
Pictures of the obverse and reverse sides of a one anna coin dating to
1839 sent to me by RK Ramanathan are featured here today. He wanted
to know more about them and I turned to my numismatist-friend DH
Rao for information. His reply is intriguing: “This is not a coin, it’s
a token, usually issued by temples. The East India Company, to please
the Hindus, minted these tokens usually with Ram, Sita, Lakshman and
Hanuman. They are known as Ramtanakas. Many a jeweller too has
issued such tokens — especially in North India.” They are bought from
the temples to be kept as personal talismans or in pooja rooms.

The chronicler of Madras that is Chennai tells stories of people, places

and events from the years gone by and, sometimes, from today
1. Lothal Port
The oldest port in India, Lothal was an important port city of Indus valley
civilization and was located in today’s Bhal region of Gujarat. Existed about
4500 years ago, the remains of the port city of Lothal were discovered in 1954
and were excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 13
February 1955 to 19 May 1960. The excavations led to the discovery of a
mound, a township, a marketplace as well as the dock, cementing the
existence of the port in Lothal.

According to Archaeologists, Lothal’s was an earliest known dock in the world

and it linked the city to an old trade route that passed through Sabarmati river
connecting Harappan cities and the peninsula of Saurashtra. It is believed to
have been an important port that mostly saw the export of jewellery, textiles
and mineral ores. Historical documents suggest the journey of valuable
ornaments from Lothal all the way to countries in West Asia and Africa.

It is said that the ancient engineers who built the port thoroughly studied the
location and the tidal movements before constructing the port’s brick-built
structures. The selection of an apt location allowed the vessels to use the
highest tidal amplitude of the Gulf of Khambhat to rinse freely through flow
tides in the river estuary. The dock also featured a lock-gate system, brick-
paved passages and ramps leading to the dock in order to carry out loading
easily.
2. Muziris Port

Muziris, the ancient port city located in today’s Indian state of Kerala, was one
of the most important trading ports in the world almost 2,000 years ago. In the
first century BC it was one of India's most important trading ports, whose
exports – especially black pepper – kept even mighty Rome in debt. But have
archaeologists really found the site of Muziris, and why did it drop off the map?
Around 2,000 years ago, Muziris was one of India's most important trading
ports. It Existed in the first century BC, the Muziris port had played a
significant role in connecting the region with the Persians, the Phoenicians, the
Assyrians, the Greeks, the Egyptians and the Roman Empire. While spices,
particularly black pepper, were the key item exported from the Muziris port,
other commodities shipped include semi-precious stones, diamonds, ivory and
pearls, among others. According to historians, the goods arrived at Muziris
from over 30 countries were mostly textile, wine, wheat and gold coins etc.
However the exact location of the port remains unconfirmed, many historians
and archaeologists believe the port and the adjacent city located around
present-dayKodungallur, few miles away from the Cochin port in Kerala.
Muziris remained as a legend for a long period of time until the Kerala Council
for Historical Research started a series of excavations in 2006, leading to the
discovery of evidence that confirmed the history of Muziris port. It also believed
that the golden period of the port and city came to an abrupt end in 1341 after
a tsunami wiped off this central point of the well-known spice route.

3. Poompuhar Port Puhar (also known as Poompuhar) is a town in

the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was
once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri Poompattinam, which
for a while served as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam. Puhar
is located near the mouth of the Kaveri river, on the sea coast. It is mentioned
in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.It has now been established by marine
archaeological research (conducted by the National institute of marine
archaeology, Goa) that much of the town was washed away by progressive
erosion and floods. In the 1960s and 1970s, archaeological researches were
conducted under the leadership of the noted archaeologist K. V.
Soundararajan. Submerged wharves and several meter lengths of pier walls
excavated in recent times have corroborated the literary references to
Poompuhar. It was rebuilt several times after that. Ancient Pottery dating back
to the 4th century BCE have been discovered off shore by marine
archaeologists east of this town.

oompuhar, also known as Puhar, is believed to be the Port town of Chozha

Empire. Located in the current Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, the
ancient ports city, also named as Kaveripoompattinam in historic documents,
was reportedly situated in the mouth of the Kaveri River.

Details about the port city have been found in several historic documents
including Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Several of explorations have been
carried out in Poompuhar and adjacent areas, starting from 1910, leading to
the discovery of evidence including the remains of buildings and ring-wells.
According to the archaeologists, the result of these excavations points the
history of the ports to 3rd century BC. And, many believe that the port city was
destructed after the storm and the following erosion occurred during 500 AD.

4. Bharuch Port

Bharuch is a port city situated on the banks of the Narmada river. The
damming of the Narmada caused the original port facilities to close, the nearest
port is now in Dahej. The Bharuch district is surrounded by Vadodara (North),
Narmada (East) and Surat (South) districts. To the west is the Gulf of Khambha
Bharuch has always been prosperous because of its location on the Narmada
River. Although water tends to be scarce in Gujarat, one never finds difficulty
in getting water in Bharuch. As a result of this, agriculture and other linked
commercial activities have flourished in Bharuch. Bharuch is also a central
stopping point for many villages spread around its boundaries. People from
these small villages come to Bharuch when they want to shop for new clothes,
or make a major purchase. Lately a lot of retiring expatriates have been
returning to Bharuch and building new houses giving the economy a boost.
Almost 2000 years ago, Bharuch was a prominent port in the Indian
subcontinent region and also one of the most important cosmopolitan cities
around the world then. Located in the region that comes under the current
state of Gujarat and at the mouth of the river Narmada, Bharuch was also
known as Bharukaccha and Barygaza to the merchants from around the world.
Bharuch had established trade relations with Arabs, Greeks and Romans,
Africans, Chinese and Egyptians. Historians suggest that the history of this
port and shipbuilding centre goes back to the days of the Pharaohs. Bharuch
was a terminus for a number of land-sea trade routes and goods were trans-
shipped there to send abroad utilising the monsoon winds.

6. Calicut Port

Along with Muziris, Calicut, also known as Kozhikode, was also one of the
busiest ports and trading centres in the extreme southern region of the
continent. Located on the coast of Arabian Sea, this west coast port was an
important trading port especially for spices including pepper, cloves and
cinnamon. The history of the port city goes back to AD 1100 and it began to
grow as a notable trade centre under the Chera regime. While textiles and
spices were the commodities travelled from Calicut, goods such as Chinese
Ceramics and European pots came in return.
However, the port city became one of the most important seaports in India after
the arrival of the Portuguese sailor Vasco Da Gama in the year 1498. The
landing of the Portuguese sailor and his crew opened the routes for a never-
ending relation between east and west. As years passed under the colonial
rules, the importance of the Calicut port diminished. As the symbol of its
prosperous past, the city still carries the remains of a sea bridge, storage yards
and goods handling cranes.

7. Tuticorin Port

Tuticorin or Thoothukudi port is one of the oldest seaports in India, with

having been established as early as 6th century. Located at 550 km South
West of today’s Chennai, Thoothukudi was ruled by several dynasties including
the Pandyas and the Cholas in the past, often using it as their important
seaport. The most important trade in this region included fishery and pearl.
The earliest mention of the port has been made in Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea.

Later, Tuticorin was established as one of the most important shipping ports
under the rule of the Dutch and English. Under the western rule, the port was
used for the export of palmyra fibres, senna leaves, salt, dry fish, etc. and the
import of commodities such as cotton, pulses, grains and coal, among others.
Currently was known as V.O.Chidambaranar Port, the Tuticorin port remains
one of the 12 major ports in India.

Arikamedu is a famous archaeological site: it was an ancient port involved in

the so-called Indo-Roman trade from the 3 rd c. BCE until the 3rd c. CE, with a
continuity up to the medieval period. Even if the evidence of trade with
Southeast Asia is scarce for the ancient period, it increases considerably
during the later period, attesting that Arikamedu was also part of the Asian
network.

Located on the Indian east coast, 5 kms south of Pondicherry, Arikamedu lays
on the right bank of the Ariyankuppam river (Fig.1).

Fig.1: Map showing the location of the archaeological site of Arikamedu © Map

background from Mapswire.com
Arikamedu was re-discovered in 1937 by Gabriel Jouveau-Dubreuil who
collected surface-finds antiquities, such as an oval intaglio with the bust of the
Roman emperor Augustus, amphorae sherds, glass objects, beads, etc. In
1941, he convinced the Father L. Faucheux of the Missions Étrangères de
Pondichéry, Mr. R. Surleau (then Director of Public Works Department of
Pondicherry), and Dr. Ayappan of Madras to have the first excavations at the
site conducted. Jouveau-Dubreuil was convinced that Arikamedu was one of
the major trading centres of the Roman Empire. He was also among the first
scholars to suggest the identification of Puducherry with Poduke, the trading
port mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea and in Geographia. After
these early archaeological forays, the site attracted the attention of Sir
Mortimer Wheeler, the director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from
1944 to 1948. He excavated Arimakedu in 1945 (Fig.2) and published in 1946,
in the Journal of Ancient India Vol. 2, a momentous article,  which remains a
reference: “Arikamedu: An Indo-Roman Trading-Station on the East Coast of
India”.

Fig.2 : Excavations conducted by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1945 © After Ancient

India 1946, n°2, Bulletin of the Archaeological Survey of India

Jean-Marie Casal succeeded Sir Mortimer Wheeler shortly after and undertook
no less significant excavations in 1947 and 1948, focusing on a habitation
quarter. His researches have been published in 1949 in a book untitled
“Fouilles De Virampatnam-Arikamedu”. But the last program of excavation is
definitely the most documented one. It started after a gap of nearly 40 years
and spanned from 1989 to 1992. Vimala Begley and K.V. Raman were the
directors of the mission and through them, several institutions were involved:
the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Madras, and the École
Française d’Extrême-Orient. The main objectives were to better understand the
nature of maritime trade between South India and the Mediterranean basin, to
study how Arikamedu functioned and what sustained its economy. The overall
results and findings of these excavations were published in two volumes: “The
Ancient Port of Arikamedu – New Excavations and Researches 1989-1992
Volume One” and “Volume Two”.

A statue of a girl with a bird, 2nd

Century CE, found at Arikamedu
Arikamedu is an archaeological site in Southern India,
in Kakkayanthope, Ariyankuppam Commune, Puducherry. It is 4 kilometres
(2.5 mi) from the capital, Pondicherry of the Indian territory of Puducherry.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler 1945, and Jean-Marie Casal conducted archaeological
excavations there in 1947–1950. The site was identified as the port of Podouke,
known as an "emporium" in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and Ptolemy.
Digs have found Amphorae, Arretine ware, Roman lamps, glassware, glass and
stone beads, and gems at the site. Based on these excavations, Wheeler
concluded that the Arikamedu was a Greek (Yavana) trading post that traded
with Rome, starting during the reign of Augustus Caesar, and lasted about two
hundred years—from the late first century BCE to the first and second
centuries CE. Subsequent investigation by Vimala Begley from 1989 to 1992
modified this assessment, and now place the period of settlement from the 2nd
century BCE to the 8th century CE.
Significant findings at Arikamedu include numerous Indo-Pacific beads, which
facilitated fixing the period of its origin. Red and black ceramics—known
as megalithic stones or Pandukal in Tamil meaning "old stones" and used to
mark graves—have existed at the site even prior to dates of the trading post,
and also in later periods.
Entrance to the Arikamedu site
Arikamedu is a coastal fishing village, under the Ariankuppam Panchayat, on
the southeastern coast of India, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Pondicherry, on the
Pondicherry-Cuddalore road; it was originally a French colonial town. It is
located on the bank of the Ariyankuppam River (for most part of the year the
river is considered a lagoon), also known as Virampattinam River, which forms
the northern outlet of the Gingee River as it joins the Bay of Bengal. As the site
is located at the bend of the river it provides protection to sea-going vessels
that dock there. The site has been subject to extensive archaeological
excavations. The archaeological site is spread over an area of 34.57 acres
(13.99 ha) and has been under the control of the Archaeological Survey of
India since 1982.[1]

The name Arikamedu, an archaeological usage for the excavated site, originates
from a Tamil word that means Mound of Arakan, based on the figurine of
an avatar (incarnation) of the Jain Tirthankara Mahavira found at the site. It is
also linked with Viraiyapattinam or Virampattinam, meaning Port of Virai, a
village next to Arikamedu. Virai, according to Sangam literature, was well
known as a port and also for its salt pans during the Velir dynasty. Arikamedu-
Virampatnam together find mention as Poduke, a major port in the Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea in the first century CE and as Poduke emporion
in Ptolemy's Geographia of mid first century CE. Poduke is a Roman name and
is also said to be a corrupted version of the Tamil name Potikai, meaning a
"meeting place", also known for the local Poduvar clan. [2][7]
Grey pottery with engravings found at the Arikamedu site
HISTORY : The first mention about Arikamedu was in 1734, in a
communication from the Consul of the Indo-French colony of Pondicherry. It
informed the French East India Company that villagers were extracting old
bricks from the Virampattinam. The earliest mention of the Arikamedu
archaeological site was by Le Gentil of France, who the King of France had
assigned to observe notable astronomical occurrences in the world. Gentil,
after visiting Arikamedu, confirmed the earlier report of the Consul of the Indo-
French colony.
In 1765, when he visited the ruins at the site, he found the people of the village
collecting large ancient bricks exposed at the river bank. The villagers told him
that they had retrieved the bricks from an old fort of the king the Vira-
Raguen. In 1937, Jouveau Dubreuil, an Indologist, also from France,
purchased gem stone antiquities from local children, and also gathered some
exposed on the site's surface. In particular, he found an intaglio carved with
the picture of a man. As a numismatist, he identified the intaglio as Augustus
Caesar. He also found fine beads and gems. He concluded that these
antiquities belonged to the Roman Empire. Dubreuil informed the local
Governor of Pondicherry about his find, and called Arikamedu "a true Roman
city." He published a short note about his findings
In the early 1940s, Service des Travaux Publics carried out random
excavations. Father Fancheux and Raymand Surleau, who were not qualified
archaeologists, carried out the excavations at Arikamedu and sent a few
antiquities to Indian museums, and also to the École française d'Extrême-
Orient in Hanoi.
Sir R.E.M.Wheeler, the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India,
in the 1940s saw a few potsherds of Arikamedu site displayed in the Madras
Museum, which he identified as "terra sigillata", or Arrentine ware, an
expensive ceramic made until 50 CE in Arezzo, Italy.[9] Thereafter, when he
visited the Pondicherry Museum and saw more of the findings from the
Arikamedu site, he was impressed and thought that he had found the links
between the Classical Mediterranean and Ancient India. Soon thereafter in
1945, the penultimate year of World War II, he mounted excavations in a
scientific manner. He was looking for an archaeological site in India that could
establish its cultural link, a datum of the Indian antiquities to the Greco-
Roman period, and this quest led him to the Arikamedu site. These excavations
also involved Indian archaeologists, who were trained on the site.

Wheeler published his findings in 1946. He noted that, for the local fishermen
of the village, the antiquities were strange—as they consisted of lamps, glass
items, gemstones, cutlery and crockery, wine containers, etc. He also observed
that traders traveled from west coast and from Ceylon, Kolchoi (Colchi) and
the Ganges area to trade goods such as gems, pearls and spices, and silk. He
carried out excavations carefully, so that none of the antiquities were damaged.
This was followed by investigations after the war, from 1947 to 1950 by Jean-
Marie Casal. His report of excavations was not as fully published as Wheeler's.
His report was not well known in India, as it was not written in English.
However, his important conclusion was that the site belonged to an
early megalithic period, as he had located megalithic burials marked by stones,
locally known in Tamil as Pandukal close to the site.

The excavations led to antiquities of Roman origin such as beads and gems,
amphorae (wine making vats) with remnants of wine, a Roman stamp, big
bricks recovered from an old wall, Arretine ware and so forth. From these
antiquities Wheeler concluded that the site was related to a period of trading
with Rome, and that it was first established by emperor Augustus. He also
noted that this Indo-Roman trade lasted for a period of about 200 years, till
200 CE. Wheeler also found the Chinese celadon, identified to belong to the
Song-Yuan dynasty, and Chola coins from about the eleventh century, but
these were rejected as despoiling items or remnants left by brick-robbers. Items
Chinese blue-and-white ware were also recovered from the site.

Wheeler noted that "rouletted Ware" found at the site (designated as

"Arikamedu Type 1" in the scientific study under the "Arikamedu Type 10
Project: Mapping Early Historic Networks in South Asia and Beyond") was not
of an Indian origin, but was from the Mediterranean region. A ceramic sherd,
("Arikamedu Type 10) has also been investigated for its style and spatial
distribution.
After a gap of several decades, in the early 1980s, Vimala Begley studied the
ceramics find of the site and proposed a preliminary version of the chronology
of the occupation of the site. At the same time she started researching on the
beads, organized a proper sequential display of the artifacts of the site at the
Pondicherry Museum, and brought out an information brochure.
Begley obtained approvals to carry out excavations at the site in collaboration
with the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Madras; she and K.V.
Raman were the directors of operation from 1989 to 1992. Steven Sidebothom
of the University of Delaware, who had background knowledge of Roman Egypt,
was in charge of the trenching at the site. Further excavations were done
during six working seasons from 1989 to 1992, which led to a contradictory
view that the brick structures and the wells investigated by Wheeler were of
poor quality as they were founded on poor sandy foundations. The wood work
was also noted to be of poor quality and the houses had no waterproofing. The
excavations also lead to a view that Arikamedu's Roman trading link was more
of an inference. The excavations have now established that the trading with
Rome extended to a period beyond that assessed by Wheeler; [6] that trading
continued from the second century BCE to the seventh or eighth century CE.

The extensive findings of glass and stone beads at the site provided Begley the
link to Arikamedu's history. She identified the beads as Indo-Pacific beads
crafted at Arikamedu. Based on the antiquities and structural features from
the excavations, Begley and Raman established a revised sequence of six major
periods of occupation of the site. Finds of new variety of Roman Amphorae
ware also facilitated revision of the dates of occupancy. They have also inferred
that the site has been in continuous occupation since at least 2nd or 3rd
century BCE to much more recent times.

Site of the ancient harbor/ Old brick built building structure

The excavated area of the mound was demarcated into two zones on the basis
of occupation and elevation. Northern sector of the mound is nearer to the sea
coast while the southern sector is farther away from the coast. The ceramic
find of crockery and cooking vessels found in the northern sector were
indicative of mass feeding of sailors and traders who camped there. Wine
stored in amphorae was the principal item imported from the western countries
during the later part of the 2nd century BCE.

According to Wheeler the finds from the northern and southern part of the
mound belong to the period from the later part of the 1st century BCE to the
1st and 2nd centuries CE. Identified structures include:
 A brick and lime mortar plaster structure of oblong shape 45 metres
(148 ft) in length, with a divide wall, used as a storehouse in the southern
part
 Two walled enclosures with ponds and drainage systems in the northern
part of the mound that could indicate of dyeing operations that used vats to
dye muslin for export
 Pottery, both local and Mediterranean, such as amphorae and Arrentine
ware that belonged to the Terra Sigillata (stamped pottery) of the 1st
century BCE, which went out of use by 50 CE
 Pink amphorae jars used to store wine or oil with two handles and a
yellow slip, found in all layers of excavations

Smaller objects include a wheel-turned blackware ceramic, a few terracotta

figurines, shell beads, gems, gold, terracotta, iron nails, copper percussion
beater, red fragment of a Roman lamp shade, an engraved emblem of emperor
Augustus, an ivory handle, and a wooden toy boat. Based on these antiquities
Wheeler concluded that the Arikamedu was a Greek (Yavana) trading station.
However, recent excavations by Begley have altered this assessment.
The buildings in the northern part of the mound indicative urbanization, with
people of different ethnic groups—Indian and non-Indian—but it has not been
possible to date them in view of the limited depth of excavations. [12]

Arikamedu - Archaeological site sign. 2010

An international conference that the Government of Pondicherry and the

Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held in October 2004 decided to investigate
the Arikamedu site jointly for conservation, as its ancient commercial link with
the Romans has been established. During this conference, the Government of
Pondicherry also decided to propose the site for status as a World Heritage
Site of UNESCO.[1] The Archaeological Survey of India also proposed the site for
UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site status, under the title Silk Road Sites in India.
If all those archaeological excavations have unearthed architectural remains
and a important quantity of objects, all the trenches have been refilled. Indeed,
in South Asia, the archaeologists are compelled to backfill their excavations
when the fieldwork is over due to the devastating effects of the monsoon and
other climatic conditions, such as the extreme heat. This allows to protect the
ruins. In some cases, programs of conservation and restoration can be funded
over the long term in order to keep the remains visible for the general public.
But these projects are very costly and can be done only for a few sites. So, if
you visit Arikamedu now, you will admire only the ruins of the Seminary also
known as the Mission House, built in 1771-7373 for the Jesuit missionaries by
the colonial French Government of Puducherry (Fig.3).

Fig.3 : Ruins of the Mission House built for the Jesuit missionaries at
Arikamedu © C. Lefrancq

Aware of this situation, the Department of Tourism, Government of Puducherry

(India) set up an ambitious project: the creation of a Centre of Information,
with the aim to inform the local and international public about the history of
the archaeological exploration of the site of Arikamedu. The Department of
Tourism and its director, M. Mansoor, are collaborating with HUDCO (Housing
and Urban Development Corporation Ltd) to build the Centre of Information,
close to the already existing Arts and Crafts village located in Ariyankuppam.
The Department of Tourism has also invited the EFEO to coordinate and
produce the scientific content of the Centre by writing all the panels, selecting
illustrations and designing some pedagogical activities. Of course, the EFEO
has accepted this stimulating challenge, delighted to work on a project for
popularizing the fundamental research. Dominic Goodall, responsible of the
EFEO Centre in Pondicherry, and Coline Lefrancq, post-doctoral researcher in
the ERC project DHARMA and affiliated at the CEIAS, are the scientific
coordinators for this project. For several reasons, none of the original artefacts
— stored at the Puducherry Museum, depending on the Government of
Puducherry, Department of Art & Culture — will be exhibited, but replicas will
be made (like amphorae, ancient boats, etc., see Fig.4).
Coline Lefrancq was on a scientific mission in Pondicherry from 26 th January to
28th February 2020 to work on the project. She could benefit of the help of an
entire team composed of Guruprashad Aravin, Léa Maronet and Alice
Baudequin (the last two having an internship at the EFEO Centre of
Puducherry).  During this research stay, the team worked on the writing of
some panels, on the elaboration of historical and archaeological timelines, on
the study of topics like the way history is taught at school and the impact of
archaeology in popular culture (with a focus on Indian culture). Sociological
aspects were also integrated by interviewing different persons about their
knowledge of the site (Figs.5,6), as well as ethno-archaeological aspects by
documenting and recording the work of modern and local potters (Figs.7,8).

 Sectarian Rivalry in Ninth-Century Cambodia: A Posthumous Inscription

Narrating the Religious Tergiversations of Jayavarman III (K. 1457)
 Gérer les données de leur création à leur diffusion: étude de cas du
projet DHARMA
 NOTE ON THE SO-CALLED "VAGABOND" STANZAS OF K. 235
 TWO INSCRIPTIONS FROM LIṄGAPARVATA (VAT PHU), ONE DATING TO
JAYAVARMAN I'S REIGN (K. 1059) AND THE OTHER TO JAYAVARMAN
II'S (K. 1060), ALONG WITH A RE-EDITION OF K. 762
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India has occupied the most important position of sea trade in the entire South Asian
region since the beginning of maritime trade. The extensive maritime trade network
between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations as early as
the 3rd3rd millennium BCE is testimony to the long maritime trade history of India.
The Harappans constructed many seaports including the first high-tide dockyard in
the world for berthing and servicing ships at the port town of Lothal, Gujarat. From
the dawn of the historical epoch, the maritime trade network of India expanded
extensively. The long 5422.6 kms coastline of the Indian mainland (excluding the
coastlines of the Andaman and Nicobar islands and the Lakshwadweep Islands) is
well known for its several seaports manly located at river mouths or outlets to the sea.
The main objective of this paper is to discuss in detail all the major ancient seaports
on the eastern coast of India and their maritime trade activities. The narrative of these
ports is based on archaeological explorations and excavations, foreigners' accounts,
Indian literary sources, inscriptions, archival materials, and the field study and
personal observation of the author.
The eastern coast of India, which cuts through Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra
Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal states, had many natural seaports of international
fame even in early times. Extending from the Ganges Delta in the north to
Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) in the south, the eastern coast is an emergent type which
is characterised by offshore bars, sea beaches, spits, and lagoons. It is an
aggradational plain (a term used in geology for the increase in land elevation, typically
in a river system, due to the deposition of sediment) formed by river sediments. The
eastern coastline of the Indian peninsula is well known for its several seaports located
at river mouths or outlets to the sea. These include the opulent Ganges Delta and its
dense fluvial network, which has openings to the sea through many outlets along the
large fertile plain arching towards the Bay of Bengal, the Odhisha coastal plain, the
Krishna and Godavari deltas of Andhra Pradesh, and the Coromandel Coast of Tamil
Nadu with the prosperous Kaveri Delta. These river deltas are favourable for
navigation and the distributaries associated with estuarine mouths naturally led to
the development of many ports. The large lagoons, lakes, and other watery areas
provided sheltered water bodies in which a large number of ports developed.

The Periplus Maris Erythraei and Ptolemy mention many ports such as Colchi,
Camara, Argaru, Poduca, Sopatma, and others on the eastern coast of India.
Archaeological investigations supplemented by literary sources have brought to light a
large number of seaports all along the eastern coast (Figure 1). Some of the ancient
port-cities like Alagankulam, Arikamedu, Kaveripattinam, Kayalpattinam, Korkai,
Mamallapuram, Nagappattinam, Periyapattinam, Devipattinam, and others on Tamil
Nadu coast like Dharanikota, Kalingapatnam, Kottapattanam, Machilipatnam
(Maisolia), and Motupalli in Andhra Pradesh; Palur, Pithunda, Khalkattapatna, and
Manikapatna in Odisha; and Tamulk (Tamralipti) and Chandraketugarh in West
Bengal have yielded material evidence exhibiting their dominant role in transoceanic
trade and commerce with many countries in the early centuries of common era. The
flourishing nature of these seaports is vividly recorded in the Periplus Maris Erythraei
and many other foreign and local literary works and in the accounts of foreigners like
Ptolemy, Pliny, Hiuen Tsang, I-Tsing, Marco Polo, Ibn Battutah, and many others.

The Periplus Maris Erythraei mentions that beyond Bacare, located just above the tip
of the Indian peninsula on the west, was a dark red mountain (Pyrrhos) and another
district stretching along the coast towards the south, called Paralia. The first place
was called Balita.1 It had a fine harbour and a village by the shore. Beyond this there
was another place called Comari (Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu), at which were the Cape
of Comari and a harbour.

Fig. 1) Map of ancient seaports in India

Korkai
The important port next to Comari (Kanyakumari) on the Tamil Nadu coast is Korkai.
Korkai is identified with Colchi referred to in the Periplus Maris Erythraei and Kolkhoi
mentioned by Ptolemy. In the Tabula Peutingeriana, it is mentioned as “Colcis
Indorum.” Korkai, in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Tuttukkudi (Tuticorin) district in
Tamil Nadu, is located about 3 km north of the Tamirabarani River and about 6 km
from the shore of the Bay of Bengal. In ancient times, Korkai was a well-known centre
of pearl fishing. It is mentioned often in Saṅgam literature2 and in classical Western
literature. The Periplus Maris Erythraei mentions that Colchi belonged to the
Pānͅdͅyan Kingdom and it was famous for pearl fisheries. The Gulf of Mannar was
called by the Greeks the Colchic Gulf. There must have been a bay close to Korkai in
the Gulf of Mannar, which would have allowed more ships to anchor. Due to heavy
sedimentation and deposition both by the sea and the river, the bay may have silted
up in the medieval period. Scrutiny of satellite imagery and topographical sheets and
tracking of palaeo-channels indicate that the ancient Korkai, once situated on one of
the distributaries of the Tamiraparani River close to the sea, might have receded away
from the shore in the course of time due to excess sedimentation.3 Notwithstanding,
the small excavations at Korkai have not provided many clues about its maritime
activities, but they have revealed that this port town existed many centuries even
before the Common Era.4

Kayal

Kayal, also known as Kayalpattinam or Palayakayal in the Tuttukkudi (Tuticorin)

district in Tamil Nadu, seems to have emerged as a new port in the place of Korkai in
the medieval period. It was originally situated almost at the confluence of the
Tamiraparani River and the Bay of Bengal, but now it is about 2 to 3 km inland. It
seems that it was a flourishing port town under the Pānͅdͅyas in the 12th-
14th centuries CE. Marco Polo describes the city of Cail (Kāyal) as:

… a great and noble city, and belongs to Ashar, the eldest of the five brother kings. It
is in this city that all the ships touch that come from the west, as from Hormos and
from Kis and from Aden, and all Arabia, laden with horses and with other things for
sale. And this brings a great concourse of people from the country roundabout and so
there is great business done in this city of Cail.5

Kayal was also referred to as Kabil by Wassaf and Bawal by Rashid al-Din, Persian
historians of the 14th century CE. It is recorded that Mohmad Bin Amir Wali Balkh
from Afghanistan travelled to various places in India from 1624-1625 and then
embarked on a ship for Sri Lanka from the port called Kabilbatan near Kanyakumari,
which was under the control of the Vijayanagara Kingdom. He mentioned that
Kabilbatan had a large Muslim population and also about the selling of pearls there.
On the basis of the details recorded by the traveller, Kabilbatan may be identified with
Kayal.6
It seems the Arabs came here for trade purposes and many of them settled here
permanently. Some of the early mosques here are datable to the 7th-8th centuries CE.
Some of the Arabic inscriptions found at Kayalpattinam indicate that merchants from
Egypt might have often visited this place or settled there permanently. One of the
inscriptions on the cenotaph mentions that one Sheik Abubakkar, son of Cairo
Utuman, died here on June 23, 1498.7 Caldwell, who explored this area in 1861,
found a hoard of coins from the 13th century CE. Some of them seem to have been
from the Gulf region and one was from Spain, issued during the regime of Peter of
Aragon (1276 CE).8 Mackenzie and Walter Elliot also noticed some Chinese coins
here.9 A large number of Chinese potteries (mainly celadon from the Longquan and
Fujian kilns of the 13th century CE and Dehua porcelain), Southeast Asian potteries,
and Islamic potteries were also found in explorations in and around Kayalpattinam.

Periyapattinam

Periyapattinam, a late medieval port town, is located on the shore of the Bay of
Bengal, facing the Gulf of Mannar in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. The
material evidence, particularly the Chinese potteries found here, indicate that this
port was prosperous mainly during the 13th-14th centuries CE, although it seems to
have continued to function as a seaport until the 17th century. This place is probably
to be identified with Dabadan, a port town mentioned in the Daoyi Zhilue, a Chinese
work of the 14th century. Further, it has been suggested that Fattan, a port town
referred to by Ibn Battuta (1304-1368), can also be identified with Periyapattinam.10 A
tombstone with an inscription written in Hebrew found at Periyapattinam perhaps
indicates the contact of this place with Israel and Palestine.11 The small-scale
excavation conducted here yielded a number of Chinese and Islamic potteries from
the 13th-14th centuries CE.12 The types of Chinese potsherds found were celadon,
white porcelain, blue-and-white porcelain, brown glaze porcelain, and porcelain from
Longquan, Fujian, Dehua, Jingdezhen, and Guangdong.13

Devipattinam

Devipattinam, another seaport on the southern side of Periyapattinam, is located on

the northern side of a small peninsula projecting towards Sri Lanka. Devipattinam
was referred to as Mali-Fitan by Wassaf and Mali-Fatan by Rashid al-Din, Persian
historians of the 14th century CE.14 According to these two historians, a Muslim
called Taqi al-Din, who served Sundara Pānͅdͅya as his minister, lived in the country
of Ma’bar. While referring to him, both the historians mentioned that three ports,
namely Fitan (Fatan), Mali-Fitan (Mali-Fatan) and Kabil (Bawal) were assigned to his
control by Sundara Pānͅdͅya.

The inscriptions from the late Pānͅdͅya period (13th century CE) found in the
Tilakesvara temple at Devipattinam provide interesting information about the import
and export of goods from this seaport and also about the details of the taxes levied on
them. Pepper, areca nut, perfumes, and other items were exported from here.
Furthermore, many goods from inland were brought here for export. The goods were
transported by small and big boats. The entry fee collected in the port for tōnͅi, a kind
of ship, was ¼ panͅam (money), whereas for cir̤r̤uru (another type of ship), it was ½
panͅam. It seems the capacity or size of cir̤r̤uru was bigger than tōnͅi. The merchant
guild known as Nān̤ātēcikalͅ was probably responsible for maritime
trade.15 Exploration in this site has yielded a large number of Chinese celadon and
porcelain datable from the 13th-14th centuries to the 16th-17th centuries CE.16

Alagankulam

Alagankulam17 is an ancient seaport situated on the banks of the Vaigai River, about
3 km away from the seashore and just opposite the northern tip of Sri Lanka.
Excavations at this site have brought to light fragments of imported amphorae, a
large quantity of rouletted ware sherds, stamped pottery and Roman coins of
Vallentine (383-395 CE), Theodosius I (383-393 CE), and Arcadius I (395-480 CE),
along with a variety of local pottery and antiquities (Figure 2). Alagankulam might
have been actively involved in maritime trade in the pre- and post-Common Era. The
coin and pottery evidence shows that trade with the Roman world was revived during
the Byzantine period after some intervening lull. The site has also yielded a new type
of red rouletted ware. The rouletted wares are usually either in grey or black, but the
types found here are bright red and somewhat resemble Arretine ware but are
certainly different from it. This site may be identified with an emporium called Salour,
referred to by Ptolemy as situated to the north of Korkai. Maduraikkāñci, a Saṅgam
tome, referred to an important port town of the Pānͅdͅya kings named after high-
quality paddy (Cāli), i.e., Cāliyūr.18 Cāliyūr may be the same as the Salour referred to
by Ptolemy. This port seems to have been an important port of the Pānͅdͅya rulers
near Madurai, their capital, and was also well connected with it through river and
land. The Vaigai River, which flows close to both places, must have been used for
navigation in the early period.19
Fig. 2) Alagankulam: Mediterranean pottery and Roman coins

Nagappattinam

Nagappattinam, a port city situated further north of Alagankulam, was referred to as

Nikama by Ptolemy,20 Nagavadana by I-Tsing, Pa-tan by Marco Polo, Malifattan by
Rashiduddin and Navutapattana in the Kalyani inscriptions of Dhammaceti (1476
CE).21 Perhaps Nagappattinam substituted for Kaveripumpattinam as an important
maritime centre in Tamil Nadu in the medieval period. This city remained a
significant seaport as well as an important centre of Buddhism for quite a long time.
Periyapurānam and a few other literary works of the medieval period speak about the
busy inland and maritime trade activities of this place. The close association of this
place with Buddhism is revealed through diggings in the localities called
Velͅippālͅayam, Nānͅayakkāra Street, and Maruntukkottala Street between 1856 and
1934 which yielded as many as 350 Buddhist bronze images ranging from the
9th century to the 16th-17th centuries CE.22 The mass production of bronzes in
Nagappattinam indicates that this place was an important centre of Buddhism. As a
result of maritime contacts between South India and Southeast Asian countries,
there existed in Nagappattinam a colony of foreigners and also a Buddhist temple and
vihāras for the foreign merchants/travellers and also perhaps the foreigners mainly
from Southeast Asian countries residing there. During the reign of the Pallava king
Narasiṁhavarman II (c. 700-728 CE), it seems, a temple was constructed probably at
Nagappattinam with the consent of the Chinese king for the sake of perhaps the
Chinese Buddhists who came to Nagappattinam from China for trade.23

Buddhist vihāras were also constructed by the Śailendra rulers of the Śrivijaya
Kingdom (which comprised Sumatra, Java, and the Malaysian Peninsula) at
Nagappattinam, perhaps for his subjects who frequently visited this place for trade
purposes. The larger Leyden copper plates of Rājarāja Cōl̤a (985-1014 CE) record that
a Buddhist palͅlͅi (temple) in the Cūlͅamanͅivarma Vihāra was erected by the Kitͅara
king (kitͅaratt-araiyan̤) Māravijayottuṅkavarman at Nagappattinam, perhaps for his
subjects who settled at Nagappattinam for trade purposes. The record states that
Rājarāja granted the revenues of the village of Ān̤aimaṅkalam to the Buddha residing
in the surpassingly beautiful Cūlͅamanͅivarma vihāra. It had been built in the name of
his father by the glorious Māravijayottuṅkavarman, who was born in the Śailēndra
family, was the Lord of the Śrivijaya and the ruler of Katͅaha ... (and) who was the son
of Cūlͅamanͅivarman, at Nāgappatͅtͅinͅam.24 The smaller Leyden copper plates of
Kulōttuṅga Cōl̤a I (c. 1070-1122), dated to 1090 CE, record the exemption of certain
taxes to the palͅlͅiccantam villages of two Buddhist palͅlͅis at Nagappattinam at the
request of the ambassadors of the king of Katͅaram. One is called
Rājēndracōl̤apperumpalͅlͅi and the other is Śailendra Cūlͅamanͅivarma vihāra, alias
Rājarājapperumpalͅlͅi, both built by the king of Katͅara (kitͅarattu araiyan̤). 25 As stated
earlier, Śailendra Cūlͅamanͅivarma vihāra was constructed by the Śrivijaya king
Māravijayottuṅgavarman during the time of Rājarāja Cōl̤a I after obtaining permission
from the latter. Interestingly, an inscription (1015 CE) of Rājēndra Cōl̤a I refers to the
grant made by an agent of the Śrivijaya (Kidāram) king to the Tirukkārōnͅamudͅaiya
Mahādēva temple at Nagappattinam.26 An inscription of the Kulōttuṅga Cōl̤a I period
found at Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu) states that the stone (gemstone) presented to
Rājēndracōl̤a dēvar by the Kāmbōja (Cambodia) king was placed, as per the
instructions of the king, in the front portion of Tirucchir̤r̤ambalamudͅaiyār temple and
subsequently fixed in the upper front row of the stone wall of the front hall (or
shrine).27
Like Śailēndra kings and the Chinese, rulers and traders from India also established
many colonies, religious centres and other edifices in foreign countries, particularly in
Sri Lanka, China, and Southeast Asian countries.28 South Indian traders and
merchant guilds such as Ainūr̤r̤uvar, Manͅigrāmam, Nānādēsi, Padinenͅ-vishayam,
Padinenͅ-bhūmi, and Añjuvanͅnͅam played a significant role in
establishing/patronizing religious and secular establishments abroad.29

There are several inscriptions from the 9th and early 10th centuries in central and
eastern Java containing references to the terms hunjeman, hunjaman, and
hinjaman.30 It seems that these terms are variants of Añjuvanͅnͅam, a merchant guild
which was active in South India during the medieval period. The term Añjuvanͅnͅam
found in Tamil inscriptions in Tamil Nadu and the Kerala coast is the same as the
hañjamana found on the Konkan coast in the MarathiSanskrit and Kannada
inscriptions. Probably this merchant trade guild included Jews, Syrians, Christians,
Muslims, Parsees, and others and had an extensive trade network from Arabia to
Java.

Since Nāgappatͅtͅinͅam was an important port city as well as a Buddhist centre, many
traders and travellers from various countries visited this place. Da tang xi yu qiou fa
gao seng zhuan, written by the venerable Yi-Jing between the first and second year of
Tian Shou of the T’ang dynasty (c. 690-691 CE), mentions that thirty-nine Buddhist
monks came to India through the south sea during the T’ang dynasty period and
visited Nagappattinam, perhaps to see the Buddhist edifice there.31 The description of
a place called Tuta meaning an “earthen tower” in the flat land of Patͅan
(Nagappattinam) in the Daoyi Zhilue refers to the existence of a brick tower which had
a Chinese inscription. The inscription quoted in the Daoyi Zhilue gives the date of
construction of the tower as the eighth moon of the third year of Xianchun (c. 1267
CE). It is stated in the Daoyi Zhilue that Chinese people came to Tuta and engraved
the inscription in that year.32 Marco Polo of Venice visited Nagappattinam in the
13th century on his way to China and describes an eastern stūpa in the flat land of
Pa-tan (Nagappattinam) as follows:

It is surrounded by stones. There is a stupa of earth and brick many feet high. It
bears the following Chinese inscription: The work was finished in the 8th moon of the
third year hien chw’en (1267). It is related that these characters have been engraved
by some Chinese in imitation of inscriptions on stone of those countries; up to the
present time they have not been destroyed.33 

The existence of a Buddhist edifice constructed by the king of China at

Nagappattinam is also attested to by the Kalyāni inscription (1476 CE) of
Dhammaceti, the king of Pegu.34 According to the inscription, a group of thēras
visiting Ceylon, being shipwrecked, travelled on foot to Nagappattinam and there they
visited the site of the Patarikarama monastery. They worshipped an image of the
Buddha in a cave constructed at the behest of the Maharaja of Cinadesa. It is well
known that a broken brick tower stood in Nagappattinam until 1867, when it was
pulled down by the Jesuits.35 It was variously known as the Putuvelͅikōpuram, Old
Pagoda, Black Pagoda, and Jaina Pagoda.36 Sir Charles Valentyn (1725) called it
Pagood China (i.e. Chinese Pagoda).37 This structure was closely similar to the multi-
storied brick pagodas of China or Southeast Asia in character (Figure 3).
Nagappattinam has yielded numbers of Chinese celadon and porcelain and
Southeast Asian potteries during explorations, in addition to Chinese coins from the
11th-12th centuries CE and a bronze bell with a Chinese inscription.38

Fig. 3) Nagappattinam: brick pagoda known as China Pagoda

Kaveripumpattinam

Kaveripumpattinam in the district of Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu, the celebrated port city of
the illustrious Cōl̤as of the Saṅgam age and also a notable Buddhist centre, is said to
have been situated on the confluence of the Kāvēri River and the Bay of Bengal. This
city was known by several names in the ancient period, e.g.,
Pukar,39 Pūmpukar,40 Kakanti,41 Campapati,42 and Kaveripumpattinam.43 Ptolemy
refers to this place as “Kaberis Emporion,”44 whereas the Periplus Mari Erythraei calls
it “Camara.”45 Tamil literature of the first three centuries CE gives a vivid account of
this celebrated port city of the Cōl̤as, its harbour, sailors, merchants, and
merchandise. A poem from the 1st-2nd centuries CE states that big ships entered the
port without slacking their sails and poured out on the beach precious merchandise
from different overseas countries and also other ports of India.q It also speaks of a tall
lighthouse on the coast summoning the ships to the harbour by night47 and yavanar-
irukkai (a colony of foreign traders).48 The Patͅtͅinͅappālai, a Tamil work of the early
centuries CE, gives a vivid description

of the various goods and articles of trade which came to Kaveripumpattinam and
their respective places of origin. Mention is made of horses from across the ocean,
pepper from the western coast, semi-precious stones and gold from the northern hills,
a fragrant wood called Aquila and sandalwood from Kutͅamalai (Potiyil hill), pearls
from the southern seas (ten̤katͅal – coast of the southernmost part of Tamil Nadu), red
coral from the ocean on the southern side (kunͅakatͅal), products from the Ganges and
Kaveri valleys, food-products from Īlam (Sri Lanka), and perfumes from Kāl̤akam
(Katͅāram-Kedah Province of Malaysia).49

At Kilaiyur, a suburb of Kaveripumpattinam, a massive brick platform, probably

representing a wharf in the backwaters where boats could be anchored to wooden
posts, was excavated (Figure 4).50 It seems the first stage of the wharf was composed
of a series of poles driven into the soil under water at low tide, in an alignment of rows
and seemingly secured to one another and to planks probably fixed on top as a
platform, for loading and unloading commodities brought from the sea into the
backwaters by boats. This appears to have been elaborated and strengthened in the
subsequent stage by a regular brick-built wharf of twin platforms, complete with a
floor course and space in between the quay-like platforms for breakwaters to run
through without eroding the bricks. Carbon14 dating of the wood associated with the
wharf was approximately between 300 BCE and 200 BCE for an average of 250 BCE.
Similar wharf-like structures of the early historic period were also excavated at
Dharanikota (Andhra Pradesh) and Rajbandar (Elephanta Island off Mumbai).
 

Fig. 4) Kaveripumpattinam, Tamil Nadu: remains of ancient wharf

Some of the records state that seafaring traders and Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka,
China, and Southeast Asian countries who came to India via the sea often landed at
Kaveripumpattinam and from there they went to various other places. The
Sihalavatthupakarana, an anthology of Buddhist stories perhaps written some time
in the 5th century CE, mentions that one of the sea routes followed by the Buddhist
pilgrims from Sri Lanka to visit various Buddhist centres in India was from
Mahakonda (perhaps Mahatittha), the port of embankment in Sri Lanka, to
Kāveripatͅtͅana in Tamil Nadu, the port of landing. From there, they travelled overland
to the north of India in the company of caravan traders, facing many hazards and
dangers.51

Incidentally, Kaveripumpattinam was not only famous for its seafaring activities, but
also well known in times of yore as a glorious centre of Buddhism. Many texts
indicate the existence and perhaps the prosperous conditions of the Buddhist
establishments at Kaveripumpattinam.52 Interestingly, excavations carried out at
Kaveripumpattinam have brought to light the remains of a vihāra of the 4th-
5th centuries CE and a Buddhist temple of the 6th century or a little later.53 In
addition, a large number of Buddhist bronzes have also been found in and around
Kaveripumpattinam. For some reason or other, trade activities weakened at
Kaveripumpattinam after the 6th-7th centuries CE and in turn Buddhism also lost its
importance in this city.

Arikamedu

Arikamedu, a well-known Indo-Roman trading station, is identified with “Pouduke” of

the Periplus Maris Erythraei and Ptolemy. It was about 6 km from Pondicherry,
situated on the bank of the Ariyankuppam River which flowed into a lagoon barred by
a sand-bar from the Bay of Bengal. The area surrounding Arikamedu has several sea
inlets and backwaters, thus making it a suitable location for harbouring ships safely.
A small fishermen’s village called Virampattinam, located about a kilometer south of
Arikamedu, is considered to be identical with Virai, a coastal town of a Velir chieftain
referred to in ancient Tamil literature.54 Arikamedu is a celebrated archaeological site,
probably the most famous in South India. The site of Arikamedu was first mentioned
in the travel writings of the French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil, who visited
Pondicherry in 1768-71. In 1937, the historical importance of the site and its
connection with the Roman Empire was recognised for the first time after Gabriel
Jouveau-Dubreuil collected from here some beads and gems, one of them with the
head of Augustus in intaglio.55 Subsequently, scholars and amateur archaeologists
from the Ecole Francaise de Extreme-Orient, Hanoi Museum, Madras Museum, and
others visited the site and undertook explorations and excavations. From 1941-44,
small scale excavations were carried out under the direction of L. Faucheux and R.
Surleau, and these excavations were partly published in a brief report by Faucheux in
1945 and by Pattabiraman in 1946. In 1945, the Archaeological Survey of India
conducted systematic excavations under the direction of R. E. M. Wheeler.56 J. M.
Casal conducted excavations in the fairly extensive area from 1947-50.57 After a
comprehensive review of the archaeological works at Arikamedu, the site was again
excavated by Vimala Begley and others between 1989 and 1992.58 The renewed
excavations proved that the site was first occupied during the third century BCE and
that the height of the region’s trade with the Mediterranean was from 50 BCE to 50
CE. It is worth mentioning that Strabo recounts that a hundred and fifty ships sailed
to India each year via southern Egypt.59

The various explorations/excavations have brought to light a most impressive

assemblage of Mediterranean artefacts like red-gloss pottery (Arretine and related
fabrics),60 Mediterranean shipping amphorae, Roman intaglios, glasses and gems,
Roman lamps, a Graeco-Roman gem with the head of Augustus in intaglio, Egyptian
faience bowls, besides black and grey routetted ware, local potteries, stone and glass
beads, terracotta figures, and other objects (Figure 5). The occurrence of Chinese and
Southeast Asian pottery from the medieval period at Arikamedu indicates that this
port city maintained an active contact with those countries until the medieval period.
The Arretine ware, produced at Arezzo in Italy, belongs to the terra sigillata (stamped
pottery) category as some of it is decorated with a stamped mould. Terra sigillata
pottery is believed to have originated in the eastern Mediterranean area. Some of the
Arretine ware found at Arikamedu has the stamping VIBII (VIBIE or VIBIF), CAMVRI
and ITTA.61 Large numbers of sherds of amphorae of a Mediterranean type were
found in Arikamedu (Figure 6). Wine from the Mediterranean region is often referred
to in the Saṅgam literature as “Yavana Teral.” One Saṅgam poem says, “The sweet-
scented wine (tanͅ kamal̤tēr̤al) brought in by the lovely ships of the Yavan̤ar
(foreigners, mainly Romans) served unto you (king) everyday on trays of chiselled gold
by girls with sparkling wrists and after testing of it, may you be filled with
merriment.”62 The study of the style, nature and internal incrustation of the
amphorae sherds found at Arikamedu shows that they were used as containers for
various items like wine, oil, and garum (fish sauce) and they came from different
countries such as Catalonia (Spain); Kos, Knidos, and Rhodes (Greek Islands);
Campania and the adjacent area (southern Italy); the Istria Peninsula in the Adriatic
Sea; and other places. The excavations at Arikamedu have also brought to light many
structures, including a structure considered to be a dyeing vat used for dyeing muslin
clothes which the Romans wanted (Figure 7). The large number of beads and bead
waste found in excavations at Arikamedu indicates that this site was an important
centre of stone as well as glass bead making industry. Some of the beads both of
stone and glass found in Southeast Asian countries reveal a striking similarity with
beads manufactured at Arikamedu. Some of the potsherds engraved with old
Sinhalese inscriptions found at Arikamedu and also at Alagankulam indicate the
network of these port cities with Sri Lanka.63
 

Fig. 5) Arikamedu: grey pottery with engravings, 1st-2nd centuries CE

Fig. 6) Arikamedu: Mediterranean amphora pieces

Fig. 7) Arikamedu

The Yuan Shi (Yuan-Shi-zin-bian), the annals of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 CE)
compiled in the 14th century, mentions the name of Xin-cun as the port on the
Coromandel coast where Chinese envoys arrived in 1281. The Chinese text mentions
that the Chinese emperor, being anxious to receive a mission from the king of Ju-lan
as a token of his submission, sent imperial envoys to Ju-lan for that purpose in
1280.64 The port city Xin-cun mentioned in this work is identified variously with
Kāveripūmpatͅtͅinͅam,65 Sadras (Caturaṅgapatͅtͅinͅam), and Sōpuram (Tiruccōpuram) or
Cintāmanͅi on the Coromandal coast.66 N. Karashima identified this place with
Pondicherry on the grounds that Xin-cun means a “new village” in Chinese.
Putuccēri, the original form of Pondicherry, also means a “new village” in Tamil.67 As
stated above, the discovery of many Chinese and Southeast Asian potteries from the
12th-14th centuries CE in the Pondicherry area testifies to the fact that this area
flourished as an important seaport and trade centre during that period. Manappattu,
a coastal site situated about 10 kms south of Arikamedu, has also yielded a large
number of Chinese and Southeast Asian potteries from the late medieval period. 68

Mamallapuram

Mamallapuram was an important seaport right from the beginning of the Common
Era. The first authentic evidence to prove that it was a seaport comes from the Tamil
work Periya Tirumol̤i written by Tirumaṅgai Āl̤vār (8th century CE) who describes the
place as Katͅal Mallai (Mallai on the seashore) where ships rode bent to the point of
breaking as they were moving hither and thither laden with wealth, big trunked
elephants, and gems of nine varieties in heaps. The Saṅgam work, namely
Perumpānͅār̤r̤uppatͅai, written by the poet Katͅiyalūr Uruttiran-kanͅnͅan̤ār, refers to a
place called Nīrpeyar̤r̤u as an active seaport of Tonͅdͅaimān̤ Ilͅantiraiyan̤ of
Kancipuram. It is possible that the name Nīrpeyar̤r̤u was the earlier name of
Mamallapuram. The seaport called Sopatma referred to in the Periplus Maris
Erythraei has been tentatively identified with Mamallapuram. Ptolemy’s reference to
“Malange” is perhaps this place. The contact of Mamallapuram with countries beyond
the sea, particularly with the Mediterranean countries, is attested to by the
occurrence of Roman coins (Theodosius of the 4th century CE), amphorae pieces, and
other objects in this area. A few Mediterranean amphora fragments have also been
found at a coastal place called Vasavasamudram not far from Mamallapuram.69 In
addition, there is some epigraphical and literary evidence to prove that the Pallava
kings had active contacts across the seas, cordial as well as inimical, with foreign
countries like Ceylon, China, and the Southeast Asian countries. These maritime
activities were more probably carried on through Mamallapuram, the notable seaport
of the Pallavas throughout their rule (Figure 8).
Fig. 8) Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu: view of monolithic temples of Pallava period

The exact location of the seaport at Mamallapuram is a matter of controversy.

However, the author of this paper identified a place called Punjeri, situated just 1.5
km west of Mamallapuram on the western bank of the Buckingham Canal, a
backwater of the sea, as the location of the ancient seaport of Mamallapuram.70 The
reasons for identifying this place as the ancient seaport are:

(1) The name Punjeri might have been derived from the term Pukum-cēri, which
means in the Tamil language “the village of entry.” As such, the very name of the
village may suggest that it was the place where ships used to enter.

(2) The majority of ancient seaports in south India are located either on a river bank,
close to the confluence of the river and the sea, or in a backwater area. Punjeri is, in
fact, situated in a backwater area, near Mamallapuram.

(3) The huge buried remains of structures, burials (megalithic burials), and ceramic
varieties of the early period found at this site on the western bank of the backwaters
(Buckingham Canal) prove its flourishing existence in the past.

(4) A few metres away, towards the western side of Buckingham Canal, there is a
small knoll. Running throughout on the western side of this is a set of 3 to 4 deep-cut
grooves. It is most likely that these grooves were meant to receive the first course of
any foundation of a huge structure like a warehouse.

Kottapatnam

Kottapatnam, located on the east coast near Sriharikota not far from Chennai, is a
lesser known seaport in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh. The name “Kottis”
mentioned by Ptolemy is tentatively identified with this place. A variety of pottery
including rouletted ware, stamped ware, kaolin pottery, Chinese porcelain, celadon
ware, glazed ware, a coin of Taizong (1403–1424 CE) of the Ming dynasty, and many
sherds of Thai celadon probably produced from the Si-Sachanarai kilns in northern
Thailand found in this site undoubtedly indicates a well-organized trade link of this
place with many countries like China, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian
countries.71 A good number of painted Thai ironware also perhaps from Si-sachanarai
kilns were found at Kottapatnam. Large glazed and unglazed jars from Thailand and
other Southeast Asian countries have been found in this site and a few other sites in
Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.72 The stamped ware (i.e., whole body of the ware
except the rim is decorated with impressed designs) found at Alagankulam and
Arikamedu (Tamil Nadu), Manikpatna and Jaugada (Odisha), Kottapatnam, and
many other sites also probably came from Southeast Asian countries. The author has
collected large numbers of grey-ware with chess-board patterns at Manalmedu near
Pondicherry which are most likely of Southeast Asian origin.73
It is worth mentioning that rouletted ware of Indian origin has also been found at
many places in Thailand (Phukhao Thong), Indonesia (Bunai complex on the
northern shores of Java and at Sembriran, north Bali), Vietnam (Trakieu), and many
other places in Southeast Asia. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) of the roulette ware
sherds found at Trakieu in Vietnam and at Sembiran in Indonesia revealed their
Indian origin.74 Interestingly, the L-shaped roofing tiles popularly known as Cōl̤a tile
reported in almost all the historical sites in Tamil Nadu are found at many places in
Thailand and Malaysia (Bujang Valley). The beads, particularly of carnelian and other
semi-precious stones, were exported from India either as a raw material or as a
finished product. The collar-beads found at various sites in Thailand are very much
akin to similar beads found in south India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. The glass
beads of Sembiran resemble south Indian samples.75 Similarly, the beads reported
from Ridiyagama and Mantai in Sri Lanka, Ban Khuan Luk Pat in Thailand, Oc-Eo in
Vietnam, and Kuala Selinsing in Malaysia appear to have been imported from
India.76 The finding of agate and carnelian beads at Ban Don Ta Phet, Thailand,
indicates the earliest maritime contacts between India and Southeast Asia BCE.77

Motupalli

Motupalli, another less known seaport of the medieval period, located to the north of
Kottapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, has an interesting inscription speaking of maritime
trade activities. The proclamation in the Motupalli pillar inscription of Ganͅapatidēva
(1244 CE) assures safety to traders arriving from all continents, risking the sea-
voyage and its hazards like storms and shipwrecks. The levies on the items of import
and export have also been listed in great detail and speak to the flourishing
international trade from this seaport. Besides the mention of several continents,
islands, foreign countries, and cities, the specific mention of Chini (China) is
noteworthy.78 Motupalli is probably the same as the “mutfili” mentioned by Marco
polo. 79

Dharanikota (Andhra Pradesh), located on the bank of the Krishna River, was an
important inland trade centre near the renowned Buddhist site Amaravati. The huge
wharf-cum-embankment raised on post-holes at right angles to the navigational
channel at Dharanikota indicates its busy maritime trade activities in the early
historic period. The wooden wharf was subsequently substituted with a brick
structure constructed all along the channel on its inner side and an earthen
embankment was raised at the back. The raising of this formed a gradual gradient
upwards from the brick wharf so that it acted both as a backing and a floodbank
during the tide.80

In fact, the large maritime façade of peninsular India and the fluvial networks of
various river systems, opening out into the sea at many outlets, afforded comfortable
waterway traffic and trade in the hinterland. Local merchants played an
indispensable role in the promotion of maritime trade as their participation and
involvement was essential for the identification of market centres and connecting
routes to these markets. The Krishna River, one of the longest rivers in India (about
1300 km in length), rises in Mahabalesvar in Maharashtra and meets the sea in the
Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladevi (near Koduru) in Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna River
flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Its most
important tributary is the Tungabhadra River, which itself is formed by the Tunga
and Bhadra rivers that originate in the Western Ghats. Other tributaries include the
Bhima, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi, Koyna, and
Dudhganga rivers.

The Krishna River is one of the fertile regions in India. It afforded not only a
convenient approach to the sea, but also brought into being a number of flourishing
Buddhist and urban settlements. The river also immensely facilitated India’s
maritime trade and cultural relations with East Asian countries as this river delta and
its dense fluvial network opening out into the sea at many outlets which served as
appropriate natural seaports. There are many important Buddhist centres on the
banks of the Krishna River and its tributaries: Bhattiprolu, Ghantasala, Amaravati,
Bapatla, Vaddamanu, Penumaka, Gudivada, Alluru, Gummadidurru, Jaggayyapeta,
Goli, Manchikallu, Nagarjunakonda, Sannati and Kanganhalli (Bhima Vallay), Maski,
and many other sites (Figure 9). It is interesting to note that many of these Buddhist
sites also happened to be important local and international trade centres. It is not
just coincidental, but probably there was a strong link between trade centres and
Buddhism. Amaravati has also yielded quite a good number of Roman potteries,
amphorae, and coins, as well as pottery and antiquities from Sri Lanka, China, and
Southeast Asian countries. Nagarjunakonda, also located in the Krishna River basin,
is one of the most famous Buddhist sites of Andhra, hallowed by its association with
the celebrated Acharya Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamika School of
Mahayanism. Interestingly, there was a monastery known as Simhala Vihara (Sīhalͅa
Vihāra), probably constructed for devotees from Sri Lanka who frequently visited this
site.81
Fig. 9) Buddhist sites & commercial centres in the Krishna Valley

Machilipatnam

Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh also remained an important seaport on the coast

of the Bay of Bengal for quite a long period. It was located almost at the confluence of
the Krishna River and the Bay of Bengal. This place was mentioned in the Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea as “Masalia,” whereas Ptolemy called this place as “Maisolos.”
Machilipatnam’s port served as the principal seaport of the Golconda Kingdom
(mainly Telangana region) from the 15th to 17th centuries CE. Even during the colonial
period (18th-19th century), it remained a significant port. Muslin was an important
trade material of this place, and traders from various parts of the globe visited it for
the purchase of muslin. It is believed that the word “muslin” originated from the
name “Maisolos.” Several Roman coins and potteries of Mediterranean origin have
been found in and around Machilipatnam during explorations and the excavations.
In addition, potsherds from China and Southeast Asian countries have also been
found here.

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam, one of the natural harbours on the east coast of

India which served as an active maritime trade centre in ancient times, is a leading
seaport of India even now. It has a long history right from the 4th-3rd centuries BCE.
It was considered a part of the Kaliṅga Kingdom, and later ruled by the Vengi, the
Pallava, and the Eastern Gaṅga dynasties. Archaeological records suggest that the
present city was built around the 11th and 12th centuries, and control over the city
fluctuated between the Cōl̤a dynasty and the Gajapati Kingdom until its conquest by
the Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century. During the colonial period, the Dutch,
French, and other European merchants used this port for trading ivory, tobacco,
muslin, and other products. The three inscriptions, two in the Telugu language and
one in Tamil, found at Visakappatnam are quite interesting.82 The Telugu inscription,
dated 1090 CE, purports to remit some taxes on house sites within the demarcated
precincts of the Ainūṭṭuva-perumballi in Visakappattinam or Kulōttuṅgacōl̤a
paṭṭaṇam by the “Twelve” of the Nagaram of the town. The grant was entrusted to a
merchant (vyāpāri) of the Añjuvanͅnͅam of Mātōṭṭam or Rāmakulavallipaṭṭaṇam. It is
interesting to note that Mātōṭṭam, the place from where the merchant hailed, is
obviously Mahātittha (the present Mandai), a famous seaport town in Sri Lanka. The
second title of the merchant Malaimaṇḍala-mārā perhaps indicates that he had links
with the Kerala coast too.83 The second Telugu inscription, dated to Saka 112 (1200,
1204 or 1207 CE), records a grant to the same Ainūṭṭuva-perumballi (this may be
a mosque) by a chief Mahamaṇḍalēśvara Kulōttuṅga Prithvīśvara. In this grant, the
receiver was another merchant belonging to the añjuvanͅnͅam of Pāśay.84 The name of
Pāśay is strikingly similar to Pasai or Samudera-Pasai on the north coast of Sumatra
in Indonesia.

Kalingapatnam

Kalingapatnam, an ancient port city as well as a notable Buddhist centre, was

situated at the confluence of the River Vamsadhara and the Bay of Bengal, in the
Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh (Figure 10). Kalingapatnam was a flourishing
port under the Gaṅga rulers, and during ancient times, vessels from here sailed to Sri
Lanka, Java, Sumatra, Malaysia, and other countries. The Jain Uttaradhayana
Sutra85and Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharavela86 mention the names of two
ports, Pihunda and Pithunda respectively, belonging to ancient Kalinga. The port of
Pithunda seems to have been located somewhat close to Kalingapatnam at the mouth
of the River Vamsadhara.87
Fig. 10) Kalingapatnam & Saligundam, Andhra Pradesh: Buddhist stupas of
early historic period

Palur

Palur, situated in the Ganjam district of Odisha, was mentioned as an important port
on the eastern coast of India. Palur is referred to in the Nagarjunakonda inscription
(3rd century CE) of Virapurushadatta as an important maritime emporium.88 G. E.
Gerini, a researcher of Ptolemy’s Geography, has identified the “Paloura” of Ptolemy
with the present Palur.89 Recent archaeological explorations around Palur (Kantigarh
area) have brought to light potsherds of Chinese celadon ware, rouletted ware, and
Mediterranean amphora pieces, which further strengthen identification of this place
with the ancient Paloura referred to by Ptolemy. Palur has often been identified to be
the same as Dantapura mentioned in Buddhist texts. The word “pallu” (in the Tamil
language) and “danta” mean “tooth” and “ūr” is identical to “pura” or city.90 According
to the Pali Dathavamsa, a sacred tooth relic of the Buddha was presented by Thera
Kshema to King Brahmadatta of Kalinga who deposited it within a magnificent stūpa
at Dantapura.91

Ptolemy refers to an apheterion (point of departure), immediately to the south of

Paloura (Palur), where ships bound for Khryse (the Malay Peninsula) ceased to follow
the littoral and entered the high seas. Gerini has identified the apheterion of Ptolemy
with the modern Gopalpur, just a little below the mouth of the River Rushikulya in
the Ganjam district of Odisha.92
Pithunda

Pithunda was another significant port of ancient Odisha. The Hathigumpha

inscription mentions Pithumdam/Pithunda as a metropolis which Kharavela
conquered in his 11th regnal year.93 Ptolemy refers to a metropolis named Pityndra
and locates it on the sea coast in between the mouths of the Maisolos (the Godavari)
and the Manada (the Mahanadi), equidistant from both.94 The Jain Uttaradhyayana
Sutra mentions Pihumda/Pithunda as a port town.95 Sylvain Levi sees the
Pithumdam/Pithunda of the Hathigumpha inscription, the Pityndra of Ptolemy and
the Pihumda/Pithunda of the Uttaradhyayana Sutra to be one and the
same.96 Taking this into consideration, the ancient port of Pithunda may have been
located somewhere near the Chicacole region (Srikakulam region) of modern Andhra
Pradesh.

Khalkattapatna

Khalkattapatna in the Puri district was a notable seaport on the Odisha coast in the
medieval period. It was situated about 11 km east of Konarak on the left bank of the
River Kushabhadra, which joins the Bay of Bengal about 3 km northeast of it.
Excavations at this place have revealed material remains assigned to c. 12th to
14th centuries CE. 97 On the basis of the archaeological evidence, Khalkattapatna can
be identified as one of the important seaports on the eastern coast of India, which had
maritime trade links with many countries. The brick jelly floor excavated at
Khalkattapatna can plausibly be recognized as a loading and unloading platform. The
pottery recovered from here consists of Chinese celadon ware, Chinese porcelain, egg-
white glazed ware, and glazed chocolate ware, all of foreign origin, and a variety of
indigenous potteries. Besides the Chinese celadon ware and Chinese porcelain, a few
Chinese copper coins datable to c. 14th century have also been unearthed.98 The
eggwhite glazed pottery obtained from the site is supposed to be from Arab countries.
It seems Khalkattapatna had an active maritime trade link with Southeast Asia,
China, and even with countries in the west between the 12th to 14th centuries CE. The
Tugu Rock inscription (5th century CE)99 of western Java says that a river named
Chandrabhaga, probably named after the Chandrabhaga River of Odisha, was
regulated by a canal. The Kuki copper plate (840 CE) of Java speaks of potters and all
sorts of servants of the inner apartments hailing from “Kling,” meaning
Kalinga.100 The mention of an ocean-related tax called “Samudrakarabandha” in the
inscription of the Bhaumakara period (9th-11th centuries) indicates the busy maritime
trade activities during that period in Odisha and also that there was a system in place
to monitor the trade activities.

Manikapatna

Manikapatna (Adigrama) in the district of Puri, located on the left bank of the
Kushabhadra River at the northern end of Chilika Lake, was another important
seaport of ancient Odisha. It is identified with the port Che-li-ta-lo mentioned by the
Chinese traveller Huien Tsang.101 However, Alexander Cunningham has identified
Che-li-ta-lo as Charitrapura and has identified it again with modern Puri, the seat of
Lord Jagannath.102 Although Puri is on the sea shore and almost projects into the
sea, it does not have any Buddhist monuments.

Hiuen Tsang mentions that Che-li-ta-lo was situated to the south-east of the Wu-Tu
(Odra) country. This place was situated near the shore of the ocean. The city was
naturally strong and contained many rare commodities. It was a thoroughfare and
resting place for seagoing traders and strangers from distant lands. Near the city were
five Buddhist monasteries close together with lofty structures and very artistic
images. Seng-ka-lo (Ceylon or Sri Lanka) was at a distance of 20,000 li (5000 miles)
from this place. During the clear nights the light on the top of the Tooth Relic tope in
Sri Lanka can be seen from this place.

Excavations at Manikapatna have yielded lots of Chinese celadon and porcelain

pieces, Chinese coins, Sri Lankan coins, and fragments of amphora. The discovery of
two imported wares, i.e., a thin egg-white glazed pottery and a thick chocolate-glazed
ware, indicate its contact with Arab countries (Figure 11). The discovery of
Shahasamalla’s coin from Manikpatna, Polonaruva, in Sri Lanka and Kotchina in
Indonesia testify to a maritime network linking coastal Odisha, Sri Lanka, and
Sumatra.103 Abul Fazl (in 1595-1596) mentions that Manikapatna was a large port
where salt tax was collected.104 The trade link with Burma (Myanmar) is proved by the
discovery of a brown glazed ware of Burmese origin at Manikapatna.105 Interestingly,
Maliwan and Aw Gyi, the notable ancient port cities in southern Myanmar, have
yielded lots of materials of Indian origin such as carnelian beads, glass beads with
elemental compositions similar to those of the beads found in ancient sites mainly in
eastern and southern India, fine grey pottery, terracotta figurines of Maurya-Sunga
style, and other objects.106

During the late medieval period (16th-18th centuries CE), many seaports of

Odisha such as Balasore (Kosambia), Chandabali, Chhauna, Churamani, Dhamarra
(Dosarene), Harishpur, Laichanpur, Pipli, and Saratha had active trade contacts with
the British, Danish, Dutch, French, and Portuguese.
Fig. 11) Manikapatna: Ceylonese and Chinese coins

Tamralipti

Tamralipti, one of the foremost seaports on the eastern coast of India, had an
extensive maritime network with various port cities throughout the world. Tamralipti
is identified with the modern Tamluk in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. It was
located at the confluence of the River Rupnarayana and the Bay of Bengal and as
such served as a natural seaport. The port of Tamralipti is referred to in different
sources. Tamralipti is mentioned in the Markandeya Purana, the Vayu-Purana, the
Natyasastra of Bharata, and the Brihat-Samhita of Varahamihira. Jain and Buddhist
texts also speak of this port city. The Jatakas makes frequent references to voyages
from Tamralipti to Suvarnabhumi (Myanmar/Southeast Asia) in connection with
trade and missionary activities.

The Arthasastra (3rd century BCE) contains profuse references to Tamralipti as an

important centre of maritime trade. Ptolemy referred to it as Tamalities.107 Chinese
pilgrims like Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang, and I-Tsing referred to Tamralipti as a port
situated on a broad bay, a place suitable for embarkation bound for China. It is
recorded in the Dudhapani Rock inscription of Udayamana (c. 8th century CE) that
merchants from such distant places as Ayodhya (in the Awadh Kingdom) used to
frequent this port city for the purpose of trade.108 The poet Dandin in his Dasakumara
Charita referred to the coming of the Greeks to this port.109 According to the
Kathasaritasagara, Tamralipti was a maritime port and an emporium of commerce in
the 4th century CE.110
Since Tamralipti (Tamluk) was the nearest seaport for visiting the main centres of
Buddhism in India such as Rajagriha, Sravasti, Pataliputra, Bodhigaya, Sarnath,
Champa, Nalanda, Kaushambi, and other places, Buddhist travellers’ from different
parts of the world who came by sea landed here and from here went to various places
(Figure 12). The Samantapāsādikā of Buddhaghosa, which contains material
belonging to the 5th century CE, refers to ships often travelling between Tamralipti
and Mahatittha.111 Hemamala in the company of her husband from Dantipura in
Kalinga was said to have brought the Tooth Relic to Sri Lanka in a trading vessel
which sailed directly from Tāmralipti during the reign of Sirimeghavanna (301-327
CE).112 The Mahāvamsa mentions that the sapling of the great Bōdhi-tree from India
was brought by Mahatheri Sanghamitta accompanied by eleven bhikkunͅis by
ship.113 Most probably Mahatheri Sanghamitta embarked at Tamralipti.
 
Fig. 12) Nexus of Tamluk port and Buddhist centres in the Ganges Valley

Besides textual and inscriptional references, antiquities recovered from Tamluk

proper and its vicinity, namely at Ichhapur, Banka and Natshal, all situated on the
right bank of the Rupnarayana, such as a gold coin bearing a Graeco-Roman motif,
terracotta figurines and pottery pieces of Mediterranean origin, clearly testify to its
international character. In addition, many potsherds and other materials from China,
Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asian countries are also found in and around Tamluk.
Similarly, a lot of materials of Indian origin found in Myanmar, China, Korea, Japan,
and Southeast Asian countries might have gone mainly from any one of the eastern
seaports of India, of which Tamralipti might have played a vital role. Northern black
polished ware (NBPW) of the 5th-4th centuries BCE found in Thailand (Tham Sua,
Kapoe, Phu Khao Thong, Khao Sam Kaeo, Tham Thuay) and Sri Lanka
(Anuradhapura) probably indicate the early contact of these sites with the Bengal
region.

Archaeological studies reveal that Chandraketugarh, situated about 35 kms

northeast of Kolkata beside the Bidyadhari River, was an important port city of the
ancient period. It is generally identified as a part of the ancient kingdom called
Gangaridai mentioned by Ptolemy.114 The history of Chandraketugarh dates back to
almost the 3rd century BCE, during the pre-Mauryan era. Artefacts suggest that the
site was continuously inhabited until the medieval period. It had a high encircling
wall complete with a rampart and moat. Terracotta seals from Chandraketugarh and
Bangarh (West Bengal) depict seafaring vessels with Kharosthi-Brahmi inscriptions
referring to Tridesayatra, meaning a voyage to three countries or directions (Figure
13).115
Fig. 13) Terracotta seals from Chandraketugarh and Bangarh

Excavations at Ambari, situated in the heart of Guwahati City in the Kamrup district
of Assam, have revealed that it was notable in international trade. The River
Brahmaputra, on the bank of which Ambari was located, was favourable for the
navigation of vessels to far off countries. Foreign ceramics such as red-gloss pottery of
Mediterranean origin, kaolin ware, Chinese celadon ware, green glazed ware, and
paddle impressed ware found at Ambari exemplify its international network during
the early period.116

Conclusion

The ancient seaports on the eastern coast of India played a dynamic role in promoting
maritime trade with eastern and western countries. Tianzhu is the historical East
Asian name for India. In ancient Chinese works, India was also referred to as Tiandu,
Yuāndu, Yindu, Yintejia, Wutianzhu, and Xiandou. In Japan, Tianzhu was
pronounced Tenjiku, and in Korea, Tianzhu was pronounced Cheonchuk (India). The
main products exported from India were pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and other
spices; perfumes; metal; herbal medicines; hide; ivory; sandalwood and other forest
products; carnelian; aquamarine beryl and other semi-precious stones; animals;
muslin cloth; silk; pearls; and other products. Archaeological explorations and
excavations in many sites, mainly in coastal areas, have yielded ample evidence to
prove international interaction during the early period. The findings of a large number
of coins, pottery, amphorae and other materials from Italy and various other
European countries, West Asia, China, Korea, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Sri
Lanka, Southeast Asia, and Far East countries in India are testimony to the dynamic
maritime trade intercourse of India with those countries in the early period. Similarly,
pottery, sculptures, inscriptions, and other materials of Indian origin are also found
in those countries.

Trade routes, both maritime and overland, not only facilitated the exchange of
materials, but also provided ample opportunities for religion, thought, culture,
customs, technology, language, philosophy, and knowledge of art and architecture to
reach foreign countries from India and vice versa. The travels of Buddhist monks and
pilgrims and the simultaneous sharing of religious texts and relics indeed stimulated
interactions between the Indian kingdoms and various regions of Sri Lanka, China,
and other countries.

Faxian, Xuan-zang, and Yi-jing were among hundreds of Buddhist monks who made
pilgrimages to India during the first millennium CE. Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka,
China, Korea, Vietnam, and other Far East countries followed both land and sea
routes to reach India. Notwithstanding that many of the pilgrims produced written
accounts of their voyage to India, only a few of those accounts have survived to some
extent in their entirety. The accounts of the journeys of Buddhist pilgrims and travels
to India are valuable to understand the status of Buddhist establishments and the
socio-economic conditions in India during their visits. Furthermore, these accounts
also throw light on ancient land and maritime trade routes, the arduous nature of
long-distance travel, commercial exchanges, and the relationship between Buddhist
pilgrims and itinerant merchants. Faxian’s narrative of his return journey from India
on mercantile vessels, although marked by near-catastrophic experiences due to the
ravages of the sea, demonstrates the relationship between Buddhist monks and
itinerant traders as well as the existence of maritime trading channels linking the
coastal regions of India and China.

Yi-Jing, who took the maritime route to India, left the Guang-Zhou region in China
and visited Fo-che, Mo-lo-yu, and Sumatra by travelling southwest. Subsequently, he
travelled northwest to Kie-tcha. Then, he proceeded east and reached the Nicobar
Islands (the land of the naked). Proceeding northwest from these islands, Yi-Jing
reached Tamralipti in about half a month. While returning to China, he took the
same route, landing again at Kie-tcha and Fo-che, but skipping the visit of
Sumatra.117

The itinerary of Ou-hing recorded by Yi-Jing is as follows. He took ship from China
during the season of “eastern wind” and took one month to reach Che-li-fo-che in
Sumatra. He changed the direction of his trip and went to Mo-lo-yu, which he
reached in fifteen days. From there, he took another fifteen days to get to Kie-tcha.
After travelling in a northwesterly direction after leaving southern Sumatra, he is said
to have “changed the route of navigation” again to proceed towards Na-kia-pa-tan-na
(Nagappattinam). This last segment of his travels took thirty days. Then, he took ship
again, and after ten days, arrived in Sri Lanka. Then, he proceeded in a northeasterly
direction towards Ho-li-ki-louo (Harikela), the kingdom in East Bengal, which he
reached in about a month.118 Hyecho (c. 700-789 CE), a Korean monk, went to India
by sea and returned to China by way of Central Asia in 727 CE. His work was found
in 1908 in the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang in a fragmentary condition without
beginning or end.119

Interestingly, ancient sea voyages are still remembered by people in India, and to
commemorate these occasions, they celebrate many social functions. For instance,
the full moon day (Kartika Purnima) of October-November is celebrated by the people
of Odisha as Bali Yatra (voyage to Bali Island). On this day, the people of Odisha go to
nearby river banks, sea shores, and lakes with votive boats with lighted lamps and
float them symbolizing a safe journey for traders to Bali. This celebration marks the
adventurous spirit manifested in transoceanic voyages for trade, commerce, and
exchange of culture with Bali, Java, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Thailand. Ancient ports
are no longer extant, but the memory of past traditions is still preserved through
these annual celebrations. Festivals of a similar kind are celebrated in Bali, Malaysia,
Thailand, and Japan. For instance, during the festival named Loykrathong or Loy
brah Prahdip in Thailand, ritualistic boats are floated in the water. During April and
May, voyages from Southeast Asia to the east coast of India used to be easier due to
the onset of the southwest monsoon. The return voyage festival Khudurukuni Osha is
celebrated in September by the unmarried girls of Odisha who used to wait for their
brothers to return with wealth and gifts from Southeast Asia.

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