PUDUCHERRY: Arikamedu, the oft-forgotten historic trading port on the banks of the Ariyankuppam river, which stands as a testament to Puducherry’s maritime links with ancient Greece and Rome, is all set to get a site museum.
The government’s plans to set up a museum at Arikamedu, around 6 km from Puducherry, was revealed by PWD and Tourism Minister Lakshminarayanan. It will display artefacts excavated from the site, throwing light on the maritime history of the place and South India. To make the tourism experience more exciting, a boating facility would be introduced on Ariyankuppam river to help people reach Arikamedu, he added. Also, more amenities and refreshment stalls are being planned for the site.
After the Puducherry government, represented by Lakshminarayan, expressed its desire to develop the site at the recent conference of tourism and culture ministers of the southern region in Bengaluru, the proposal was accepted by the Union Tourism Ministry, the minister said.
But since Arikamedu remains a protected site under the control of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the ASI has been requested to provide a small portion of the land for the purpose, Lakshminarayanan told TNIE. The Centre had agreed to sanction Rs 1.78 crore on his request to establish the site museum at Arikamedu.
A team of ASI officials had recently visited Puducherry and held discussions with Lakshminarayanan and Puducherry Art and Culture Minister Chandira Priyanka, along with senior officials. It has been decided to erect a wall demarcating the area, said Chandira Priyanka. The team would be revisiting some time again in January, she said.
Arikamedu had trade links with Rome and other European empires between the 2nd century BCE and 8th century CE. Excavations carried out by Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler in 1945 and Jean-Marie Casal in 1947–1950, revealed walls, remains of a harbour, pillars and many other architectural structures. They uncovered substantial evidence of a Roman trading settlement including amphorae (ancient Greek/Roman jar), lamps, glassware, coins, beads made of stone, glass, gold and gems. It showed that the settlement engaged in considerable trade with Roman and later the Byzantine world.
In addition, Arikamedu was also a centre of manufacturing in its own right producing textiles, particularly cotton fabric muslin, jewellery, stone, glass and gold beads (for which the settlement was particularly renowned).
Many distinctive wares have been uncovered which clearly pre-date the Roman exchange including locally-made products such as beads and pottery, indicating a flourishing local craft tradition before the arrival of foreign influences.
Mentioned in Ptolemy’s atlas
Arikamedu, one of the earliest Indo-Pacific bead-making centres, was mentioned as ‘Poduke Emporion’ in Ptolemy’s atlas Geographia in the 1st century CE