The Italian Government has begun to show a welcome interest in the Roman Trail in South India and one of the consequences of this is likely to help in the development of an archaeological park in Arikamedu, 4 km south of Pondicherry and a part of t he Union Territory. As a prelude to this, a fascinating book titled Arikamedu – Its Place in the Ancient Rome-India Contacts, written by Madras archaeologist Dr. S. Suresh, has been brought out by the Embassy of Italy, New Delhi.

For some years now, Suresh has been leading small groups that have followed the Roman Trail in South India on tours organised by INTACH-Tamil Nadu. In his latest book, he spells out that trail in a little more detail, even if his focus is on Arikamedu. The trail stretches from ancient Musiris (generally considered to be Kodunganallur, north of Cochin, but that, Suresh emphasises, is just speculation; “those who claim to go to Musiris, actually go in search of Musiris!”, he feels) to Mylapore.

From Musiris the trail goes to Iyyal on the Trichur-Guruvayur Road where hoards of Roman coins were found in two caves, now called the St. Thomas Caves. Next comes the village of Vellalur, 15 km from Coimbatore, and Perur on the outskirts of the city. Roman coins and pottery have been found in both places and gold Roman jewellery - now in the Madras Museum – in the former. It’s then on to Kodumanal on the north bank of the Noyyal, a tributary of the Kaveri. An iron-processing industry and the manufacture of beads from semi-precious stones were major production activities here in Roman times, the iron ore coming from nearby Chenniamalai and the stones from several neighbouring villages. Excavations at Kodumanal have revealed iron swords and arrowheads, a terracotta head (my picture today), pottery, and Roman coins and gold and silver ornamentation.

Similar manufacture took place at Karur, the ancient capital of the Cheras on the banks of the Amaravathi, and similar finds have been made. The ancient Chola capital of Uraiyur, near Srirangam, is the next stop. Roman pottery and dyeing vats have been found here, the latter some confirmation of muslin that was much in demand in Rome being manufactured there. And so to the east coast, to the ancient port of Kaveripattinam (Poompuhar today, but Kaberis to the ancients from the West), once the chief port of the Cholas and a great entrepot. Roman pottery and coins have been discovered here and in a nearby place intriguingly called Vellaiyan-Iruppu (‘Abode of the white man’).

Heading north from Kaveripattinam you come to Arikamedu, once an important port and, in the 20th Century, site of the most extensive ‘digs’ in search of ancient Roman connections. The first searches were in the 1930s by the French, followed by a Madras Museum-led excavation at the request of the French in 1940. The French, as well as Wheeler, conducted ‘digs’ till 1950 before excavating Arikamedu was given up till an American-funded Indian scholar, Vimala Begley, worked at the site from 1989 to 1992. It’s been all quiet since then. The Archaeological Survey of India purchased the privately-owned site in 2003 and fenced it in 2006. Pottery, beads, coins and other evidence of Roman presence and trade have been unearthed here during every ‘dig’.

And so to the two ancient Pallava ports of Mamallapuram and Mylapore – where the Roman evidence in them long predates the Pallava. Once again, Roman coins and pottery have been the main finds. In fact, Roman coins have also been found in Saidapet and Mambalam!

The Romans followed the world’s oldest sea trade route from the 3rd Century B.C.E., till the 7th Century C.E., though their trading activities with India began to decline from the end of the 1st Century C.E. They came in search of textiles, gemstones, spices, ivory, sandalwood and the exotica of the East, not least its wealth of fauna. They brought with them coral, wine, silver and gold. The Yavanas, as they were known in South India, sailed from Pozzuoli near Capua in southern Italy to Alexandria, then down the Nile, across the desert to the Red Sea ports, particularly Berenike, and, thereafter, in Arab ships to India. It’s a wondrous story that deserves telling in detail by Suresh one day.