Maritime Trade in Ancient Tamilakam: Archaeological Evidence from the Sangam Age Indo-Roman Commerce

Abstract

Ancient Tamilakam, the southernmost peninsular region of the Indian subcontinent during the Sangam Age, occupied a strategic position in the maritime trade networks linking the Mediterranean world, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the eastern coast of Africa, and Southeast Asia. Archaeological investigations over the past century, supplemented by literary and epigraphic evidence from Tamil Sangam poetry, Greco-Roman geographical texts, and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, have produced a rich understanding of the Indo-Roman commerce that flourished during the early centuries of the Common Era. This article examines the maritime trade of ancient Tamilakam through an archaeological perspective, focusing on excavated sites, material culture, and the wider trade networks documented through diverse sources of evidence. Drawing on a critical literature review methodology, the study analyses peer-reviewed scholarship and archaeological reports published primarily between 2010 and 2025, supplemented by foundational earlier works. The analysis identifies four dimensions of the Tamilakam maritime trade system: the major port sites and their archaeological signatures, including Arikamedu, Pattanam, Korkai, Alagankulam, and Kaveripoompattinam; the artefact assemblages indicating long-distance exchange, including Roman amphorae, Mediterranean ceramics, beads, glass, and metalwork; the literary and epigraphic evidence corroborating archaeological findings; and the broader political economy and inter-regional connections of the Sangam world. The study draws on the work of Indian archaeologists including K. V. Soundara Rajan, Y. Subbarayalu, K. Rajan, and P. J. Cherian, alongside international scholars including Vimala Begley, Roberta Tomber, and others. The article concludes with implications for archaeological research, museum interpretation, and Indian historiography.