Marine Archaeological Investigations on Tamil Nadu Coast, India: An Overview
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
Ancient ports such as Kaveripattinam, Nagapattinam, Korkai, Alagankulam, Periyapattinam, all on Tamil Nadu coast have played a dominant role in the transoceanic trade and commerce with many countries since the beginning of the Christian Era (CE, starting from year one on the Georgian Calendar). Many such port towns that existed on the coastal region vanished or were submerged in the sea probably due to coastal erosion, sea level changes and neo-tectonic activity and other causes.
Poompuhar, a flourishing port town, played a major role in maritime activities in the beginning of the Christian Era. The Sangam literature vividly describes its location, habitation and town planning. The marine archaeological explorations around Poompuhar brought to light the remains of terracotta ring wells, brick structures, and storage jars in the inter-tidal zone. The brick structures, stone structures, and pottery from offshore explorations support the existence of the ancient settlement.
Mahabalipuram is said to have been a seaport right from the beginning of the Christian Era. Geophysical survey and underwater exploration revealed structural remains including a fallen wall running about 10 metres (m) in length, scattered dressed stone blocks, a few steps leading to a platform and many other structural remains at various locations between 4 and 8 m water depth. The available data confirms that a large area comprising of a building complex have been submerged. These remains could be part of submerged structures and caused by severe coastal erosion in this area.
The data collected at the above sites support the literary evidence to prove their existence as ports. The major cause for the submergence of these port towns was due to shoreline changes caused by coastal erosion.
Sundaresh
A.S. Gaur
November 2011
Reading of the contemporary social consciousness through the shipwreck Earl of Shaftsbury
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
The shipwreck Earl of Shaftsbury is buried on the southern coast of Sri Lanka very close to a frequented tourist destination. It was run aground hitting on a rock at Akurala about three miles away from the shore. In 1893 when sailing from Bombay to Diamond Island the ship sailed past Rangoon through Colombo harbour after unloading charcoal. It is an iron build four mast sailing vessel. It collided with a reef due to rough waves. Six of the crew drowned and 22 survived. The shipwreck settled at a 50 foot depth. The incident was first reported in the The Ceylon Examiner Newspaper on 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th of May 1893. The value of the vessel was estimated at Indian Rupees (Rs.) 300,000 at the time. In one article there is another steamer ship reported wrecked some years previously. This paper includes details of the wreckage as are available from the newspaper reports. What happened after her wreckage was an interesting story. The time was the British colonial period in “Ceylon†(now Sri Lanka) during which time there was a growing general unrest against the colonial masters. Some information reveals that this mindset may have influenced the rescuers during their rescue efforts of the drowning crew. This paper it is going to elaborate on the story behind the shipwreck of the Earl of Shaftsbury and investigate the social influences towards the wreck site then and now.
A.M.A.Dayananda
November 2011
Archaeological, Literary and Ethnographic Evidence for Traditional Boat-building in Kerala, South India
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
Kerala possesses rich maritime traditions dating back to the Early Historic period. A few types of traditional watercrafts developed indigenously and some are influenced by external contacts. Archaeological excavations revealed a medieval sailboat at Kadakkarappally in 2003 and an Early Historic canoe at Pattanam in 2007. The Early Historic Sangam Tamil texts refer to the watercrafts of Kerala. Traditional boat-building still survives in Kerala. This paper presents the evidence for traditional boats in Kerala, their historical context and the possible external influences, until the 15th century Common Era (CE).
Veerasamy Selvakumar
November 2011
The “Stone Four Legged Quern†(Bench) recovered in the oldest Maritime Archaeological Site at Godawaya (Ambalantota) in Sri Lanka
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
The stone bench that was recovered at the oldest Maritime Archaeological site at Godawaya (Ambalantota) in Sri Lanka is an unusual archaeological artifact which has become instrumental in turning the history of Maritime Archaeology in Sri Lanka in a new direction It has been recovered for the first time in the area of Godawaya (Ambalantota) in the Hambantota District in Sri Lanka. The particular object is a Stone Bench with four legs where the whole thing is carved out of a single stone. The main purpose of this article is to describe this stone bench and to discuss the symbols it carries with its making. Also an attempt will be made to look into the site where the object was found and other certain related aspects as well.
In August 2008, Maritime Archaeologists attached to the Department of Archaeology and Central Cultural Fund (CCF) under the aegis of UNESCO launched an exploration in the area where this stone bench had been found. The location was around 30 meters under the sea at a place 4 km away from the fishery harbor in the coastal area of Godawaya village in the proximity of Ambalantota Town in the Hambantota District in Southern Province of Sri Lanka.
Sanath Karunarathna
November 2011
An overview of shipwreck explorations in Goa waters
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
Since the beginning of maritime archaeological research in Indian waters, marine records housed in archives of India and abroad provide details of the shipwrecks and the loss of Indian ships in foreign waters. Information on more than 200 shipwrecks in Indian waters has been gathered from archival records and attempts made to explore in Goa, Lakshadweep and Tamil Nadu waters. These shipwrecks are dated to the post 16th century AD. Shipwrecks were explored off Sunchi Reef, St George’s Reef and Amee Shoals in Goa waters. Sunchi Reef and St George’s Reef were wooden hulled sailing ships whereas Amee Shoals was a steel hulled steam engine shipwreck. Sunchi Reef exploration led to the recovery of guns, barrels of handguns, storage jars, Chinese ceramics, elephant tusks, hippopotamus teeth, iron anchors and other items that are evidence of Indo-Portuguese trade and commerce in the 17th century. Exploration off St George’s Reef uncovered timber and terracotta artefacts such as column capitals, drums, ridge tiles, roof and floor tiles and chimney bricks The bricks and tiles have the distinct inscription of Basel Mission Tile works 1865. Amee shoals exploration revealed the remains of a steel hulled steam engine shipwreck in which boilers, boiler bricks, and engine parts were found. The stamps on the flanges and the name on the firebricks suggest a British origin, dating from the 1880s or later.
Sila Tripati
November 2011
Literary & Archaeological Evidence of Early Seafaring & Navigation Technologies in India
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
India is situated at the central point of the ocean that washes on its coast on three sides, seemed destined very early for a maritime future in the region. Both literature and archaeological works of the region are providing ample evidence about the early sea routes and maritime trade activities of the region. Vedic literature, one of the early existed texts, has provided copious references about the early seafaring. There was a time in the past when Indians were the masters of the long distance seaborne trade. They built ships, navigated the sea, and held in their hands all the threads of international commerce, whether carried overland or via sea. The archaeological excavations of several Indo-Saraswathi, the first civilization in the region, sites and many others have also conclusively demonstrated advance maritime activities right from the third millennium Before Christ (BCE). During the early historical period (second BCE to second CE) several coastal towns, both east and west coasts of peninsular India, had international trade and commerce. The subject matter for the present discussion are based on glimpses of the regional seafaring and navigation technologies mentioned in the available early indigenous literature of the Sanskrit language, as well as archaeological records.
Key words – Vedic literature, Sanskrit, Rigveda, Matsya yantra
S. Rama Krishna Pisipaty
November 2011
Ships and Navigation in the Medieval South India
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
The maritime activities of Indian sub continent have a hoary past. The inscriptions of medieval South India disclose information about the ports of Coromandel coast, the various kinds of boats and ships and goods that were imported and exported through these ports. The inscriptions of the Cholas, Pandyas and the other major dynasties in the Andhra region give valuable evidence on this aspect. Besides, the inscriptional evidences there are quite a number of sculptures, coins bearing the figure of ships and boats attest to the various kinds of vessels of that period. The Cholas who ruled over the entire Tamil country in the medieval period made sevaral voyages to the South-East Asian countries through big vessels. Rajaraja I, the great Chola king (A.D.985-1014), allowed Srivijaya king Sri Mara Vijayadunga Varman son of Sulamanivarman to build a Buddhist vihara in the name of his father Sulamanivarman at Nagappattinam, which suggests that he had a cordial relatio nship with the kingdoms of far east countries during his regime. His able son Rajendra I (A.D.1012-1044) he crossed the Bay of Bengal and reached many countries which were listed in the lengthy prasasti. His prasasti mentions that he used many kinds of ships on the ocean to reach the Southeast Asian countries such as Kadaram (modern Kedha) Java and Sumatra.
An inscription from Mottuppalli refers to the various kinds of ships which were anchored on the Andhra coast. The port had a yard for ship repair. This port was declared as a tax-free zone for the ships affected during storms. An inscription from Nagalapuram near Chittor in Andhrapradesh refers to a kind of ship knows as tongukappal in Tamil. In all probability it could be a big Chinese vessel, namely the jung. This paper discusses in details the nature of the ships and navigation in medieval south India
S.Rajavelu
November 2011
Maritime Archaeology of Gujarat: Northwest coast of India
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
The evidence of maritime activity in India may be traced back to the Bronze Age (early 3rd millennium BC to mid- 2nd millennium BC). The excavation of several Harappan sites including Lothal, Kuntasi, Padri, Nageshwar, Bagasra and many others have conclusively demonstrated an advance maritime culture during the third millennium Before Christ (BC). During the historical period several coastal towns had international trade and commerce including Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Hathab, Vallabhi, and Bharuch. Maritime activity reached it’s zenith in Gujarat during the Medieval period (8th to 14th century AD) when Arab traders dominated the Indian Ocean for over a millennia. Underwater investigations have been carried out at various places along the Saurashtra coast and a large number of stone anchors were found.
This paper also discusses the effect of tide when using jetties and anchoring points along various parts of the west coast India. The archaeological evidence indicates that two gulfs along the Gujarat coast (Gulf Kachchh and Gulf of Khambhat) witnessed the hectic maritime activities in the past. Both gulfs have very high tidal ranges. The Gulf of Khambhat has the highest tidal range in India (11 meters). Ancient texts such as Vishnu Puran and Periplus of the Eruthreanean Sea vividly describe the tidal range and its uses in navigation. The discovery of the large number of stone anchors in the inter tidal zone along the gulf region support the above references.
A.S. Gaur
Sundaresh
November 2011
Pattanam archaeological site : The wharf context and the maritime exchanges
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
Since 2007 the archaeological excavations at Pattanam, located on the southwestern coast of India, were undertaken by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) Thiruvananthapuram. These efforts unearthed an early historic (1st c BCE – 5th c CE) multi-cultural port site, which is now widely considered as an integral part of the ancient port of Muziris. This paper discusses the material evidence related to the maritime exchanges at Pattanam, including a wharf context and the importance of the site in the transcontinental interfaces in antiquity.
The most striking material evidence unearthed at Pattanam is the enormous quantity of terracotta objects, ranging from sherds of a variety of jars and pots to roof tiles and bricks. This paper will specifically examine the Indian and non-Indian distinct pottery of the Pattanam ceramic assemblage.
The excavations in the northeastern part of the site revealed a wharf and warehouse structure, a wooden canoe made of anjili in a waterlogged context, along with nine bollards of teak. The wharf was a platform made of a mixture of laterite, clay and lime, with an elaborate brick lining where the reclining platform touches the water. The waterlogged area also produced a plethora of paleo-botanical and other archaeological evidence prompting one to propose a hypothesis that Pattanam is a major emporium of the spice trade network of the Early Historic Period (1st c BCE – 5th c CE). This ‘priceless’ evidence from the wharf context and the adjacent waterlogged area are breakthrough finds for understanding the Early Historic inter-continental exchanges that flourished as part of the ancient spice trail that linked Asia, Africa and Europe.
The paper concludes by examining the domineering distribution of local pottery as an example in pointing out the problems of Euro-centrism in the perspectives on long-distance exchanges.
P. J Cherian
November 2011
Nautical Terms as Gleaned from Ancient Tamil Literature
Session 2
Nautical (Ship and boat) Archaeology of South Asia
During the beginning of the Common Era, the Maritime trade peaked in the regions of Southeast Asia, Peninsular India, Srilanka and the Red Sea coast. The Greek and Latin accounts clearly attest to the increased trade activities in this period. The use of large crafts for navigation is well recorded in these accounts. The early historic Tamil Sangam literature dated between 300 B.C.E. and 300 C.E. provide valuable data regarding the nautical knowledge of that period. Some researchers have attempted to collate and interpret the data on nautical terms available in this literature. However, a detailed contextual analysis based on the content of the poems has not been attempted so far. Many types of crafts such as naavaay, vangam, thimil, and punai, are found mentioned in the Sangam literature, and these terms are not in use at present. The field studies conducted by scholars have revealed the existence of many indigenous crafts having different names on the South Indian Coast. Due to modern development the usage of traditional crafts is fast vanishing.
In this paper an attempt is made to analyse the names and structure of the crafts that occur in the Sangam literature based on their contextual information. For example, the term naavaay is mentioned in the context of deep-sea craft which carried goods of various types. The data pertaining to the boats and ships and other nautical terms are analysed in this paper. An attempt is also made to find out the possible reasons for the disappearance of the various crafts referred in the literature.
N. Athiyaman
November 2011