Buddha statuette found in Roman Egypt

[guy]

There has long been speculation about trade between India and the Roman Empire (see threads below). A statuette of Buddha, possibly associated with an Indian trader, has been found in the city of Berenike (Berenice Troglodytica), an Ancient Egyptian seaport on the western shore of the Red Sea (see map below).

 

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During the Roman period, between the 1st and 2nd century AD, the city was one of the primary waystations for the trade of war elephants and exotic goods such as pepper, semi-precious stones, cloth, and ivory, transported between India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, and Upper Egypt.
 

Archaeologists from a joint Polish-American mission have found a 71cm tall statue depicting a standing Buddha while excavating in a temple complex.

Excavations of the temple also discovered an inscription in Hindi (Sanskrit), dating from the reign of the Roman Emperor, Philip the Arab (AD 244 to 249), in addition to Greek inscriptions which are from the 1st century BC.

Archaeologists also uncovered two coins from the central Indian kingdom of Satavahana, an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. The Satavahanas were one of the first Indian kingdoms to produce state coinage struck with images of their rulers, with the two coins found at Berenice Troglodytica dated to around the 2nd century AD.

 

(Two Indian coins minted in the 2nd century AD were found at the site)

 

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/04/statue-depicting-buddha-found-in-ancient-egyptian-city/147109

 

Site of Berenike, Egypt on Red Sea

 

 

 

 

Edited June 5 by guy

[caldrail]

Wait.. What?  Berenice Troglodytica?

I knew there was a thriving port on the Red Sea coast of Egypt used by ther Roman Empire for trade with India, but I had no idea they were cave dwellers. 

[guy]

I’m waiting for a more complete description of the find, but here is an interesting paragraph from another article supporting the idea that there was a robust trade between India and Roman Egypt at Berenike:

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Sidebotham's excavations have turned up such varied items as Indian-made pottery, textiles, ships' sails and beads, stone and wooden figurines of Venus, ships' timbers made of cedar from Lebanon and teak from southern India, a clay jar containing decorative silver pieces, Roman glass, a gold and pearl earring, sapphires and other gems, a mother-of-pearl cross and slivers of Turkish marble used as veneer for walls or floors. Several inscriptions carved in Greek on large stone blocks have also shed light on the religious lives of the city's residents.

 

UD AUTHOR

Amazon.com calls Sidebotham's latest book "an intriguing read, an accessible account full of fascinating finds and careful analysis."

 

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A particularly significant find was made in 1999, when the team discovered a large jar embedded in the courtyard floor of the Serapis Temple, which contained nearly 17 pounds of black peppercorns from the first century. Cultivated at the time only in southwestern India, peppercorns were highly prized in ancient medicines and religious rituals as well as cooking. The large quantities found throughout the city confirmed that Berenike was not only a transit point for this and other exotic merchandise but also a consumer of these commodities.

https://www1.udel.edu/researchmagazine/issue/vol3_no1_humanities/secrets_of_berenike.html

 

Edited June 5 by guy