1st century Spanish pottery found in Pattanam (India)

[Melvadius]

This story from India Today really falls between two stools and could equally well have gone into the 'World Archaeology' thread. However as it relates to the discovery of Roman period pottery sherds so giving further evidence for the extent of Roman trade I decided to post it here:

 

The ongoing archaeological excavations in Pattanam region near Kochi in Kerala have now made another significant recovery; shreds of an amphorae (wine jar) of Spanish origin belonging to the period between 1st century BC and 2nd century AD.

 

Remnants of a Spanish jar used to contain fish sauce too have been recovered from here. Experts have said that such remnants from the Catalan region of Spain of the period were being recovered for the first time in India.

 

Two years ago excavations in Pattanam had made news when remnants of Roman amphorae were recovered from here for the first time from India's Western coast. The excavations now have recovered part of the handle of Spanish amphorae.

 

"We expect to get more soon" said P.J. Cherian, director, Kerala Council of Historical Research (KCHR) which has been doing the excavations in Pattanam village since 2007 in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India. The amphorae are supposed to have been used by Mediterranean traders during their sea travel to the Kerala coast looking for spices like pepper.

 

Excavations in Pattanam have recovered besides pottery, large cache of gold coins, semi precious stones, remnants of a canoe and bollards etc. Carbon dating done at Georgia University in US has calculated the age of the canoe and bollard falling between 36 BC and 24 AD.

 

The excavations in Pattanam have so far recovered the largest assemblage of Roman amphorae -1100 fragments- in India. However it was for the first time remnants of a Spanish pottery were being recovered from India's western coast. According to Roberta Tomber, a collaborating expert from British Museum and noted authority on Roman pottery the remnants belong to Catalan region around Barcelona of Spain.

 

"This is the first recovery from India of amphorae from this region of Spain" said she. The amphorae had distinctive collared rim, grooved handle and solid base. The sauce jar too had distinctive long flat handles, hollow base and out turned rim. Potter said that the Spanish pottery must have come to Pattanam from Alexandria and not directly from Spain.

 

"Alexandria was the emporium of all products from the different regions including Spain falling under the Roman empire during then," said Cherian.

 

The recovery is yet another proof for the flourishing trade which went on between Rome and the spices-rich Kerala region since 1st century BC. Until excavations were done in Pattanam, remnants of Roman amphorae were recovered only from Arikamedu in the Coromandel region in India's Eastern coast.

Edited December 10, 2009 by Melvadius

[sylla]

Sadly, Mr. Radhakrishnan's article seems not to make justice to Cherian & Tomber research

... Excavations in Pattanam have recovered besides pottery, large cache of gold coins, semi precious stones, remnants of a canoe and bollards etc. Carbon dating done at Georgia University in US has calculated the age of the canoe and bollard falling between 36 BC and 24 AD.

 

The excavations in Pattanam have so far recovered the largest assemblage of Roman amphorae -1100 fragments- in India...

It's not clear if the coins and additional artifacts were considered Roman, Indian or from any other place.

Besides, "1100 fragments" could be any number of amphorae, from one to 1100.

 

Please note that, if properly sampled and analyzed, the carbon date would just be the terminus post quem for the non-wooden artifacts; i.e. they could have come from any later date.

Edited December 10, 2009 by sylla

[Melvadius]

Sadly, Mr. Radhakrishnan's article seems not to make justice to Cherian & Tomber research It's not clear if the coins and additional artifacts were considered Roman, Indian or from any other place.

Besides, "1100 fragments" could be any number of amphorae, from one to 1100.

 

Please note that, if properly sampled and analyzed, the carbon date would just be the terminus post quem for the non-wooden artifacts; i.e. they could have come from any later date.

 

Possibly a link to this article in Antiquity may be of interest to anyone who hasn't come across their research before.

[sylla]

Remnants of a Spanish jar used to contain fish sauce too have been recovered from here. Experts have said that such remnants from the Catalan region of Spain of the period were being recovered for the first time in India... The amphorae are supposed to have been used by Mediterranean traders during their sea travel to the Kerala coast looking for spices like pepper.

It would be interesting to determine what the content of the amphorae (if any) was in their travel to India; I

[Melvadius]

It would be interesting to determine what the content of the amphorae (if any) was in their travel to India; I

Edited December 11, 2009 by Melvadius

[sylla]

We may not be following the same line of reasoning.

 

The Spanish garum of these amphorae was in all likelihood consumed in Rome or Italy; far as I'm aware, Alexandria doesn't seem to have been a relevant partner in such trade.

 

The re-use of the amphorae for diverse purposes is indeed well attested.

 

My point is that the origin of the Indian trade was presumably Rome (i.e. where the emptied amphorae rested), not Alexandria; "direct" doesn't imply the same vessel was used for all the travel ; Alexandria and Berenike were probably just steps, not the final destiny of the trade.

 

My question is what (if any) content was in the amphorae for their travel eastwards; Garum? Nothing? Anything else?

 

The thesis of the authors for the return content (pepper) seems plausible, but it naturally requires some additional confirmation; in any case, it seems most people agree the most economically relevant portion of the circuit was the travel back (westwards).

 

And of course, the traders may well have been Indians (or even third parties), and not necessarily Mediterraneans, as implied by the article.

Edited December 11, 2009 by sylla

[Melvadius]

We may not be following the same line of reasoning.

 

The Spanish garum of these amphorae was in all likelihood consumed in Rome or Italy; far as I'm aware, Alexandria doesn't seem to have been a relevant partner in such trade.

 

The re-use of the amphorae for diverse purposes is indeed well attested.

 

My point is that the origin of the Indian trade was presumably Rome (i.e. where the emptied amphorae rested), not Alexandria; "direct" doesn't imply the same vessel was used for all the travel ; Alexandria and Berenike were probably just steps, not the final destiny of the trade.

Glad you clarified that

My question is what (if any) content was in the amphorae for their travel eastwards; Garum? Nothing? Anything else?

 

The thesis of the authors for the return content (pepper) seems plausible, but it naturally requires some additional confirmation; in any case, it seems most people agree the most economically relevant portion of the circuit was the travel back (westwards).

 

And of course, the traders may well have been Indians (or even third parties), and not necessarily Mediterraneans, as implied by the article.

 

 

The use of transhipment points for goods (and probable exchanges between traders) such as Berenike and Alexandria is now generally accepted as a working thesis amongst archaeologists and historians I have spoken to about this. Regarding your question on the contents eastwards as has already been indicated it will probably take laboratory analysis of the sherds to provide some indication of what was being transported to India - however if it was dry goods then there may be nothing to find by such analysis.