Pattanam excavations illuminate the ancient Indian Ocean network
Quick dive
- Pattanam in Kerala has archaeological evidence broadly dated to 300 BCE–300 CE, with especially substantial evidence from 100 BCE–300 CE.
- Between 2006 and 2023, 67 trenches yielded about 1.3 lakh registered artefacts and nearly 45 lakh pottery fragments; less than 1% of the mound has been excavated.
- Finds include structures, wells, workshops, coins, beads, biological remains and a wooden canoe dated to 100–100 CE.
- Materials from South Asia, West Asia, the Red Sea, Africa and the Mediterranean indicate movement of goods, people, technologies and ideas across the Indian Ocean.
- exam_relevance: provides a location-specific archaeology and trade-network case, including the unresolved Pattanam–Muziris identification, allowing UPSC to test Sangam-era maritime links, material evidence and limits of archaeological inference.
Full explanation
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