A coastal survey is being carried out in Tamil Nadu by a team of professors and students, seeking to throw more light on the ancient ports in south India, mentioned in Greco Roman geographer Ptolemy’s accounts.
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| A printed map from the 15th century depicting Ptolemy’s description of the Ecumene [Credit- WikiCommons] |
The survey is being done by experts, specialising in underwater archaeology of Thanjavur-based Tamil University, in two coastal stretches- one between Kanyakumari and Rameswaram and another between Rameswaram and Poompuhar in Nagapattinam district intends to gather more information from ruins of coastal towns, which are believed to have existed during the Sangam literature era.
Facilitated by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil with a funding of Rs 5 lakh, the survey is headed by N. Athiyaman of the Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Tamil University.
“The survey intends to study the ancient coastal towns, which have functioned as ports. Our preliminary survey is to locate the area, over which we can focus for further research. We are now looking at ports,” Athiyaman said.
Ancient Tamil literature, including ‘Akananuru’ of the Sangam era, referred to the period between 600 BCE and 300 CE, suggest that some 20 to 25 ports had existed in the region. “Greco Roman writer Ptolemy’s geographical accounts mention some 15 ports.
Underwater survey in Tamil Nadu to verify Ptolemy’s account
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