8/10/2019 Oxford Archaeologists Unravel the Past of Pattanam
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Oxford archaeologists unravel the past of Pattanam
Oxford archaeologists unravel the past of Pattanam
Oxford archaeo logists working at Pattanam, located 25 km north
of Kochi,
have c onfirmed that it was an Indian port frequented by Romans
and have
put to rest doubts about the antiquity of the site.
Oxford University archaeologists collaborate w ith Kerala
Council for Historical
Res ea rch at the Pattanam site [Credit: Thulasi Kakk at/The
Hindu]
If the excavations and surveys go as planned, the UK team might
also have
answer s to questions such aswhy Pattanam was chosen to create a
majortrading facility and how the o nce flourishing city
disappeared .
Pattanam has a long history of habitation dating back to 10
century BCE and
its trade links with Rome pe aked between 1 st century BCE and
4th century CE.
Some exp erts have identified Pattanam as part of the lost port
town of Muziris
describe d in ancient Tamil and Roman texts.
The Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR), which has bee
n
conducting excavations at Pattanam since 2007 , signed a
memorandum of
understanding with the School of Archaeology, University of
Oxford, in 2010.
Now, a team headed by Chris Gosden and Wendy Morrison have
commenced
ex cav ations along with experts from the KCHR. The UK experts
plan to use
airborne su rve ying techniques suc h as LIDAR (Light Detectio n
and Ranging)
to map and understand the surface characteristics of this
settlement.
Prof Chris Gosden, who is the Chair of Europea n Arc haeology
and an expe rt inlandscape studies and Eurasian co nnections, told
The Hindu that the focus of
their work was to study the formation of the landscape and
geomorphological
features of the settlement, and, then, contextualise the
excavations. They
would u se d ata gather ed fr om fieldw or k and aer ial su rv
ey s.
Prof. Gosdens initial impression is that Pattanam proba bly
witnessed fierce
monsoon rains in the past and the landscape was considerably
volatile. He is
of the view that Pattanam was a part of river delta and the pre
sence o f sand
bars a nd is lands may hav e c ontrib ute d to its gr owth as a
tr ading po st.
To a question o n whether Pattanam was the lost po rt town o f
Muziris, he said
that it is not a question of utmost importance to him. There is
rich ev idence to
show considerable exchange between two important powers in the
world
(India and Rome) then. To study the relationship and the proc
ess is critical,
he said.
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