6 months ago
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To deepen the knowing of past maritime commercialized links, 2 archaeologists of the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) person joined the squad which has started excavations at Berenike, the past larboard metropolis connected the Red Sea seashore of Egypt, where Tamil-Brahmi-inscribed potsherds were unearthed earlier, offering grounds of commercialized links betwixt the past Tamils and the Romans.
TNSDA Joint Director R. Sivanantham and M. Ramesh, the archaeological serviceman who worked connected the Keeladi excavations, person joined a 30-member squad of archaeological and method experts from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland, on with specialists from different countries, to instrumentality portion successful the excavations at Berenike.
Speaking to The Hindu from Berenike, Mr. Sivanantham said, “A bid of excavations had been carried retired at Berenike, the past larboard metropolis connected the Red Sea coast, which served arsenic a captious nexus successful Mediterranean trade. The nonsubjective of the TNSDA’s participation successful the existent play of excavations — undertaken aft an statement was signed with the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology — is to place further grounds of past Mediterranean commercialized connections betwixt the Tamils and the Romans.”
The earlier excavations astatine the Red Sea ports successful Egypt, including Berenike and Quseir al-Qadim, yielded Tamil-Brahmi-inscribed potsherds. In his book, Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D., seasoned epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan lucidly documented Tamil-Brahmi pottery inscriptions recovered extracurricular India, including those in ancient Roman settlements on the Red Sea seashore successful Egypt.
During an excavation at Berenike in 1995, archaeologists unearthed a potsherd bearing the Tamil-Brahmi text korrapuman. Excavations at Quseir al-Qadim yielded potsherds bearing the Tamil-Brahmi texts kanan and catan.
Mr. Sivanantham said the existent play of excavations began connected Monday adjacent the 10-acre tract wherever a temple had been discovered successful 1 of the earlier phases. The excavations would proceed until December 17, helium added.
