BHUBANESWAR: Ongoing excavations at the ancient port site of Palur in Ganjam district has struck upon a Buddhist stupa dating to more than 2000 years back. While the date of the stupa located atop Palur hill is yet to be officially ascertained, it is believed to have been built in the 1st or 2nd century CE.
The excavations have been carried out by the Odishan Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies under department of Culture at Palur (also called Prayagi), eight km away from Rambha in Ganjam district since August-September last year. The initiative is aimed at establishing maritime trade relations of the region with the rest of Southeast Asia in the form of material culture.
“The stupa stands on a rectangular platform measuring 12 metre in length and is three metre wide. The remains of the stupa rises up to 5.5 metre,” informed Sunil Patnaik, senior archaeologist and the director (excavation) of government-run OIMSEAS.
Apart from the stupa, several antiquities have been discovered from the site. They include beads of semi-precious stones, coins, rings, terracotta figurines and conch shell bangles and rings. Besides, pot shreds of various types like black, red, orange, brown and buff which point to the relationship of the site with several countries in southeast Asia, Patnaik said. “Pieces of exotic foreign red polished ware have also been found from Palur,’ he added.
The archaeological antiquities have been sent to IIT, Mumbai for examination to establish the exact date of the site. Last week, a team of national and international archaeologists visited the site. Among them, Prof Monika L Smith of California University, who excavated Sisupalgarh, analysed the material finds from Palur and opined that it was definitely an important port establishment during the 4th-3rd century BC which is evident from the pottery findings from the site.
“The trade contact is evident from the finding of the Buddhist stupa. The East Coast route is ancient. Discovery of ancient port sites along this route like Tamralipti, Manikapatana, Gourangapatana, Kalingapatana, Visakhapatam has provided evidence on a brisk overseas trade relationship of ancient Odisha with far off countries,” she said. Continued on P7
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The recent findings from Palur and other sites can be considered as important and strong evidence on ancient Kalinga (Odisha)’s glorious maritime past, she added.The early historic port of Palur is located near the modern Palur village in between the south of Rambha harbour and north of Rushikulya estuary in the Chhatrapur sub-division of Ganjam district.
The harbour is protected by the arms of Dumanagiri hills which run from east to west, Jhinkarradi hills in the northwest and the estuary of Rushikulya River in the south. At present, littoral drift and a few coastal islands separate the ancient harbour from the Bay of Bengal. The earliest reference to this port appears in the work of the Greek sailor Ptolemy20 during the 2nd century CE who had named it as Paloura.
DISCOVERIES SO FAR
Remains of Buddhist stupa discovered at Palur site
The recent findings from Palur and other sites can be considered as important and strong evidence on ancient Kalinga (Odisha)’s glorious maritime past, she added.
The early historic port of Palur is located near the modern Palur village in between the south of Rambha harbour and north of Rushikulya estuary in the Chhatrapur sub-division of Ganjam district. The harbour is protected by the arms of Dumanagiri hills which run from east to west, Jhinkarradi hills in the northwest and the estuary of Rushikulya river in the south.
At present, littoral drift and a few coastal islands separate the ancient harbour from the Bay of Bengal. The earliest reference to this port appears in the work of the Greek sailor Ptolemy20 during the 2nd century CE who had named it as Paloura.