Poompuhar, a 2,000-year-old port city built by the Cholas was lost beneath the sea; new study finds ancient Tamils had trade links with Persian Gulf and Iran

Poompuhar, a 2,000 year old port city built by the Cholas, was slowly swallowed by the sea over centuries, and it keeps giving up fresh proof of just how far its trade once reached. A new underwater study now shows that the ancient Tamils who lived there were trading with the Persian Gulf and Iran as far back as the 3rd century BCE, reports TOI.

A team from the Tamil Nadu archaeology department spent three weeks diving off the coast near Poompuhar, and what they pulled up adds real weight to old theories about this sunken city and its place in ancient world trade.

What did the divers find underwater at Poompuhar


Over two weeks of exploration, the team recovered more than 200 potsherds and fresh images of underwater structures, all more than 2km from today's coastline in the Bay of Bengal. This phase of the search, the first since 1981, turned up torpedo jars at the site for the very first time. These are long, narrow vessels that were used to carry wine and other goods, and they are directly linked to trade with the Persian Gulf.

Alongside the torpedo jars, the team found glazed pottery connected to ancient Iran, and paddle impressed pottery that points to trade with the Gangetic plains. Together, these finds build a picture of Poompuhar as a port that was plugged into trade routes stretching from West Asia to the heart of the Indian subcontinent.

Why the torpedo jars matter so much

The three week exploration was led by Prof K Rajan, adviser to the Tamil Nadu state archaeology department. He said fragments of similar torpedo jars were found earlier at other ancient ports such as Muziris, and that this shows ancient Kaveripoompattinam, also known as Kaveripattinam, one of the old names for Poompuhar, was well connected with West Asian countries.

That comparison to Muziris matters because Muziris is already well documented as a major hub for trade with Rome and West Asia. Finding the same kind of transport jars at Poompuhar strengthens the case that it played a similar role on India's eastern coast, rather than being a smaller or lesser port.

Limestone find hints at Buddhist links too

The team also found limestone underwater, which they believe could be tied to Buddhist artefacts. V P Yathees Kumar, joint director of the state archaeology department, said they also found limestone which could have been associated with Buddhist artefacts, possibly from Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh.

Researchers also suspect they have found rouletted ware among the fragments recovered, and a detailed study of the pottery is now being planned to confirm this and understand the full trade picture better.

The mysterious underwater structure at Poompuhar

Poompuhar's seabed holds more than pottery. In 1991, researchers first identified a U-shaped structure around 5.5km from the coast, sitting at a depth of 23m. Later study showed the structure is actually oval shaped, 40m long and 16m wide, and made of stone blocks. It rises 2.5m from the seabed, and for years it stayed hidden under sand sediment and fishing nets, which made it look like a natural formation rather than a built structure.

How did the old city end up underwater

Archaeologists date parts of the city to the 3rd century BCE, and they believe sea erosion over the centuries pulled much of it under water. As proof, they point to the Ellaiamman temple at Vanagiri, near Poompuhar, which was still in use on land until 1991 and is now sitting 100m out into the sea.

A palaeo tsunami study carried out at Poompuhar found that the region was hit by several tsunamis over the past 2,000 years, which likely added to the damage caused by slow erosion.

Poompuhar's place in history is not limited to what lies underwater either. The city finds mention in the Tamil epics Silapathikaram and Manimegalai, and in Greco Roman records such as Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and Ptolemy's Geography, where it is referred to as Kaveripattinam and Kaboris Emporium.

Inputs from TOI