Encouraged by the zeal witnessed at the recent world classical Tamil conference, the state government has decided to fund an undersea expedition to excavate remains of a 2,000-year-old town, Poompuhar or Kaveripoompattinam, submerged under the sea off the Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu. Read more
Archaeological excavators looking for remains of Muziris, an ancient port city of Pattanam in Kerala, found 18 wooden pegs that might throw light on the life and times of people who lived there several centuries ago. The sharpened wooden pegs, ranging from 15 cm to 20 cm in length, were found at a depth of four metres, said P.J. Cherian, head of the Pattanam excavations that are conducted by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR). Read more
Muziris was a thriving port in the Indo-Roman trade in the First Century B.C.E. And one day, it just vanished. Recent excavations have thrown up the possibility that Pattanam, a small village on the Kerala coast, could be the lost port. Read more
Pattanam, a small village located 25 km north of Kochi, is the new pilgrimage spot on the international archaeological map. This quiet place, archaeologists now confirm, was once the flourishing port known to the Romans as Muziris and sung in praise by the Tamil Sangam poets as Muciri. Every year since 2005, excavations have yielded artefacts, structures and even a canoe in one instance to confirm this conclusion. This year has also been productive for archaeologists. Read more
An Ancient ship excavated from another site of 'Thyckal' which is cabon dated to be of 1000 yrs old has been neglected by the acrcheological survey of India.The ship which is found to be around 2 kms far from the actual sea coast as of now, still does not have any deformity and the complete excavation might bring into light a more detailed information about trade centres which existed the coastal belt of kerala.
An ancient city excavated on Kerala's Malabar coast had trade links with many key centres around the world as far back as 500 BC, fresh archaeological evidence says. The Institute of Physics in Bhubaneswar has also concluded that the site, which archaeologists named Pattnam, was actually the ancient city of Muziris. It is located seven kilometres from Kodungallur in Ernakulam district. According to P.J. Cherian, director of the Kerala Council of Historic Research (KCHR), the city had maritime links with cities along the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and South China Sea.
The Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) exhibited here the precious findings of its two-month long excavations that unearthed remnants of Muziris, the legendary port city mentioned in ancient texts that was once the centre of spice trade on the Malabar coast that attracted the Romans, Arabs and the Chinese as early as 200 BC.
Striking archaeological evidence suggests that the legendary seaport of Muziris, which was a bustling Indo-Roman centre of trade during the early historic period between the first century BC and the fifth century AD, could have been located at Pattanam, near Paravur on the south of the Periyar rivermouth. Read more
Kodungallur (anglicised name: Cranganore ) and known in ancient times as Shinkli, Muchiri (anglicised to Muziris), Muyirikkodu, Muchiripattinam was a famous and prosperous sea-port at the mouth of the Periyar (also known as Choorni Nadi) river in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is located about 38 km from the present day city of Kochi at 10°13′N 76°13′E.
The name Muchiri (Malayalam for broken lips) denotes the three branches of the Periyar river that open into the Arabian Sea at the town. Source
Archaeologists working on India's south-west coast believe they may have solved the mystery of the location of a major port which was key to trade between India and the Roman Empire - Muziris, in the modern-day state of Kerala.
For many years, people have been in search of the almost mythical port, known as Vanchi to locals. Much-recorded in Roman times, Muziris was a major centre for trade between Rome and southern India - but appeared to have simply disappeared, until now...