Maritime Intercontinental Trade in Submerged Poompuhar Port City—A Case Study

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the complex relationships between maritime connectivity, trade, and domestic production from the ancient vanished harbor Poompuhar, which is well described in the Tamil literature: Silappadikaram, Manimekalai, Pattinapalai, and Akananuru. Many ancient ports such as Nagapattinam, Korkai, Alangulam, Periyapattinam, and Pooumpuhar along Tamil Nadu’s coastline played a significant role in the oceanic trade and commerce before the beginning of the Christian Era. These ancient ports/harbors vanished or submerged along the seashore due to coastal corrosion, sea level changes, tectonic plate movement, or other natural calamities. The Sangam literature vividly describes Poompuhar port’s location, habitation, and town planning. This ancient port town, dating back to the fourth century BCE, is now being rebuilt digitally and preserved so that the whole India can learn about the early existence of Poompuhar’s trade and culture, as it still remains unknown. Through the millennia, trade operations have encouraged exchanges between far-off lands connected by networks of maritime trade routes. Maritime networks functioned as a major means of connecting with other nations across various seas and land routes connecting different sections of the subcontinent. This research can lead to the development of archiving and preserving all cultural heritages, which can promote tourism in India. We can also discover the hidden remains and truth of India’s ancient cultures and heritages. We can be brought into the light so that everyone can know how the ancient Indian people lived and maintained their maritime oceanic trade and culture. This study focuses mainly on the archeological artifacts discovered at Poompuhar (Kaveripoompattinam), which allow us to describe the ancient trade routes. The artifacts demonstrate numerous routes for making contact with coastal and inland centers.