Alexander in Amsterdam - Minerva

Indian archaeology
Dr Sethuraman
Suresh studies the
archaeology of the port
of Arikamedu, which
provides the clearest
evidence for the largescale
trading contacts
that existed between
the civilisations of the
ancient Mediterranean
and India
Despite the efforts of numerous
scholars for more than
a century, the trade and
cultural contacts between
the Roman world and the Indian subcontinent
remain vague in the minds
of many contemporary archaeologists
and are rarely included in university
courses on Roman history and art.
However, these contacts are among
the most significant examples of globalisation
and cultural cross-fertilisation
during antiquity. Thousands of
Roman traders, and their Egyptian and
Arabian representatives, came to India,
occasionally accompanied by artisans
and craftsmen from Mediterranean
lands. Many of these merchants and
craftsmen even settled in India, adjusting
themselves to the Indian climate
and lifestyle (Fig 2).
As early as the 3 rd century BC, foreign
traders came to the west (Malabar or
Kerala) coast of India. From here, they
travelled on to the market towns and
ports on the east (Coromandel) coast
(Fig 3). Thus, trade during antiquity
28
1
Rome’s sea route
India
to
Fig 1. Arikamedu on
the banks of the River
Ariyankuppam. Photo:
Mr Ireno, Pondicherry.
Fig 2. Trade sites
around the Indian
Ocean during the
Roman period. Map:
Antony Simpson
(reprinted from
Roberta Tomber, ‘The
Ancient Spice Trade’,
Minerva, March/April,
2009, pp. 35–37).
was largely confined to southernmost
India: the modern states of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory
of Pondicherry, a region called
Tamilakam because the language spoken
here was Tamil.
The trade across the Arabian Sea
between India and the Roman province
of Egypt reached its zenith during
the reign of the Julio-Claudian emperors
(27 BC–AD 68). However, towards
the end of the 1 st century AD, there was
a slow but steady decline in the maritime
contacts. During subsequent centuries,
especially after the creation of
the Tetrarchy by Diocletian in AD 293,
2 3
which divided the Roman Empire into
East and West, the trade declined still
further until it came to an end around
the 7 th century AD.
The Romans came to India in
search of luxury commodities such
as ivory, sandalwood, silk, cotton and
spices, and exotic animals like peacocks.
Indian gemstones, mainly beryl,
together with Indian spices, especially
pepper and cardamom, were in great
demand in the Roman markets. In
return, India imported coral, wine and
olive oil, as well as metals such as gold,
silver and copper. The metals that came
from Rome were mostly in the form of
Minerva September/October 2010