Arikamedu – An Ancient Trading Post From The Times Of Julius Caesar

By Meera

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After roaming around the rocky beaches and Chola temples of Puducherry in the cool environs of January month, I was yearning to take a peek at a very ancient but hardly known Roman trading site in the city of Pondicherry. Some of my friends in Bengaluru had mentioned about it but could not give much details. However, despite inquiries nobody could exactly tell the 'way' to this post. Of all the people, it was our friendly old auto driver Loganathan who finally managed to get the whereabouts of this place.

The remains of this French styled villa revealed secrets of an ancient era

Imagine in this French colony for two centuries - a place known as “Arikamedu” was discovered by archaeologists to have maintained trading relations with Rome in the era of Emperor Julius Caesar. Can you believe this? It is said to be the only settlement in India with an archaeological presence of Romans. Well for me, it was difficult – even as Loganathan had to go round and round in circles to arrive at this hidden post on the banks of a lagoon. After all the searching, I realized why it was not on the plate of all tourists.

As we crossed house after house and entered a verdant fenced area suddenly two huge arched gates unfolded.  The remains of this ancient Roman post remains completely hidden amidst a semi-urban settlement and surrounded by overgrown bushes while the Archaeological Survey of India has not even put a board depicting its name or details of Arikamedu.  In fact, anybody can enter this place and even if somebody vandalizes, there is nobody to bother or secure it. This is the existing state of affairs in the country's ancient archaeological site.

Even as we entered this place, suddenly to my astonishment - I saw four youngsters dressed in very trendy clothes and posing on their hi fi Hayabusa bikes which were parked in the middle of the site. They were busy modeling and taking their selfies with absolutely no regard for the historicity or the sentiments attached to this site. As I spoke to them, they were neither aware of its importance nor the need for its protection and they openly said it was a nice background for displaying their personality and their bikes. However, when I requested them to remove their bikes from the site they surprisingly shifted their vehicles.

Frontal view of the post where excavations revealed evidence of trading

Going round the place which now has the ruins of a French Jesuit Mission or maybe, a warehouse - it was found interspersed with ancient artifacts and stony mounds. Looking at the ruins - I could picture how this place could have been - with people to people contact and flourishing trade relations with Caesar’s Rome. Well, this clearly shows even before the British, French and Portuguese came to India and claimed to have brought trade and European culture to our country – India already had ties with many nations around the world and was carrying out trading from a port located in the Bay of Bengal in the second century BCE itself. Once upon a time, Arikamedu was famous for the manufacture of glass beads and other items but maintained trade relations with Rome and other countries in the Mediterranean.

Amid the brick structures, many statutes, pottery, Roman coins were found

Hidden in this site, excavations revealed varying times at different levels

Successive excavations by French, English and Indian archaeologists at this site has led to the discovery of Roman pottery - red clay pots used for tableware, intaglios, Roman coins, Chinese and Chola artifacts. In fact, at the site numerous Amphorae (tall and ancient Roman or Greek jars or jugs) with the mark of numerous Roman schools were found. Many of these valuable relics depicting the trade between 100 BCE and  200 CE are preserved in the Pondicherry Museum.

Grey Pottery with engravings Virampatnam Arikamedu 1st Century CE	Child with bird Virampatnam Arikamedu 1-2Century
Image Credit: Wikicommons

With excavations happening over a long period of time, the discovery of relics including coins, pottery, big bricks, engravings, statutes, glass beads, jewelry and other items has clearly established this port town was not just a fishing village but an important destination for maintaining relations with Romans, Greeks and Chinese.

The ruins in a timeless frame hidden in a village

How to go there:
The ancient site is located just 6-8 kilometers from the city centre of Pondicherry. It is in the village of  Kakkayanathope in Ariyanakuppam commune. The best way to find this place is traveling by an autorickshaw, as it will be difficult for other vehicles to cross the narrow bylanes.

Location map: