In the wake of the news from Chennai a few days ago (see: Romans
in India Again), the Times of India has a nice little feature:
The discovery of Roman pottery remains in Naduvirapattu, near
Tambaram, last week has once again thrown light on the extensive
trade between southern India and Rome more than 2,000 years ago.
The latest findings seem to indicate that the Roman traders
travelled inland and may have had temporary settlements there.
Naduvirapattu may have been a transit point enroute to
Kancheepuram, which was a centre for manufacturing textiles,
says Jinu Koshy, assistant professor in the history and
archaeology department of Madras Christian College who led the
team that found the remains. The team dug up pieces of Roman
amphoras, or pots, that were used to store wine. Naduvirapattu
is only the most recent instance of Roman contact with ancient
Tamil country. Thousands of coins – gold, silver and copper –
found in Karur carrying portraits of famous Roman kings showed
that the contacts were extensive,