Sources of ancient Tamil history
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There are literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history. The foremost among these sources is the
Archaeological excavations of several sites in
Inscriptions found on caves and pottery are another source for studying the history of Tamilakam. Writings in Tamil-Brahmi script have been found in many locations in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and also in Egypt and Thailand.[1] mostly recording grants made by the kings and chieftains. References are also made to other aspects of the Sangam society. Coins issued by the Tamil kings of this age have been recovered from river beds and urban centers of their kingdoms. Most of the coins carry the emblem of the corresponding dynasty on their reverse, such as the bow and arrow of the Cheras; some of them contain portraits and written legends helping numismatists assign them to a certain period.
Literature
Sangam
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By far, the most important source of ancient Tamil history is the corpus of Tamil poems, referred to as
The historical value of the Sangam poems has been critically analysed by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Sivaraja Pillay, a 20th-century historian, while constructing the genealogy of ancient Tamil kings from Sangam literature, insists that the Sangam poems show no similarities with ancient Puranic literature and medieval Tamil literature, both of which contain, according to him, fanciful myths and impossible legends. He feels that the Sangam literature is, for the most part, a plain unvarnished tale of the happenings of a by-gone age.[9] Scholars like Dr. Venkata Subramanian,[10] Dr. N. Subrahmanian,[11] Dr. Sundararajan[12] and J.K. Pillay[13] concur with this view. Noted historian K.A.N. Sastri dates the presently available Sangam corpus to the early centuries of the Christian Era. He asserts that the picture drawn by the poets is in obedience to literary tradition and must have been based on solid foundation in the facts of contemporary life; he proceeds to use the Sangam literature to describe the government, culture and society of the early Pandyan kingdom.[14] Kanakalatha Mukund, while describing the mercantile history of Tamilakam, points out that the heroic poetry in Sangam literature often described an ideal world rather than reality, but the basic facts are reliable and an important source of Tamil history. Her reasoning is that they have been supported by archaeological and numismatic evidence and the fact that similar vivid descriptions are found in works by different poets.[15] Dr. Husaini relies on Sangam literature to describe the early Pandyan society and justifies his source by saying that some of the poetical works contain really trustworthy accounts of early Pandyan kings and present facts as they occurred, though they never throw much light about the chronology of their rule.[16]
Among the critics of using Sangam literature for historical studies is Herman Tieken, who maintains that the Sangam poems were composed in the 8th or 9th century and that they attempt to describe a period much earlier than when they were written.[17] Tieken's methodology of dating Sangam works has been criticized by Hart,[18] Ferro-Luzzi,[19] and Monius.[20] Robert Caldwell, a 19th-century linguist, dates the Sangam works to a period that he calls the Jaina cycle which was not earlier than the 8th century; he does not offer an opinion on the historical value of the poems.[21] Kamil Zvelebil, a Czech indologist, considers this date quite impossible and says that Caldwell's choice of works are whimsical.[22] Champakalakshmi states that since the Sangam period is often stretched from 300 BCE to 300 CE and beyond, it would be hazardous to use the Sangam works as a single corpus of source for the entire period.[23]
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the Sangam poems were created between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE and many of them are free from literary conceits.[24] The Macropaedia mentions that the historical authenticity of sections of Sangam literature has been confirmed by archaeological evidence.[25]
Other languages
- ""Then come Naura and Kingdom of Cerobothra; it is a village in plain sight by the sea. Muziris, of the same Kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Ariake, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia...Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia, and is of another Kingdom, the Pandian. This place also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea...."[30]
One such port, Kudiramalai is mentioned in Greek as Hippuros, a famous port of the Malabar country in Ceylon to the ancient Greeks. Pliny states that in the reign of the Emperor Claudius in 47 CE:
- "Annius Plocamus, a freedman, having farmed the customs of the Red Sea, was, while sailing along the coast of Taprobane, where he was entertained with kindly hospitality by the king. In six months' time he acquired a thorough knowledge of the Tamil language."
An embassy of four envoys were sent from the island to Rome, including ambassador-in-chief Rasaiah from the King of Kudiramalai. To the Romans, the Kudiramalai envoys related particulars about their kingdom's inhabitants, including their common life expectancy of 100 years, their government, a council of thirty persons, free civil liberties and laws pertaining to abuse of sovereign power, their trade with the Seres (Chera), their festivals surrounding "the chase", and their delights in the elephant and the tiger. The ambassadors felt their kingdom to be richer than Rome's, although in their eyes Rome put its wealth to much better use.
The
The Chinese writer Pan Kou, who lived before the 1st century CE, refers to the city of Kanchipuram in his work Tsien han chou.[28] The Chinese historian Yu Huan in his 3rd century text, the Weilüe, mentions The Kingdom of Panyue:
- "...The kingdom of Panyue is also called Hanyuewang. It is several thousand li to the southeast of Tianzhu (Northern India)...The inhabitants are small; they are the same height as the Chinese..."[35]
Archaeology
According to Abraham, the Sangam era corresponds roughly to the period 300 BCE–300 CE, based on archaeology.
Economic activity evidence
Archeological evidence for agriculture in the Sangam age has been retrieved from sites such as Mangudi, Kodumanal and Perur, which have yielded charred remains of seeds of crops like rice, millets including pearl millets, pulses and cotton. It has been deduced that agriculture most likely involved dry farming, with additional irrigation for cotton and rice; mixed cropping seems to have been undertaken to replenish the nitrogen in the soil—this also suggests a spread of labour and knowledge of different sowing and harvesting techniques. The presence of cotton seeds indicates the production of a crop aimed at craft production, which is also attested by finds of cotton and spindle whorls at Kodumanal.[44] Remains of structures that resemble an artificial water reservoir have been located at different sites. In Arikamedu, a few terracotta ring-wells were found at the bottom of the reservoir; it has been suggested that the ring wells were to assure the supply of water during the dry season.[45][46][47]
A research survey at Kodumanal has unearthed the remains of an ancient blast furnace, its circular base distinguishable by its white colour, probably the result of high temperature. Around the base, many iron slags, some with embedded burnt clay, vitrified brick-bats, many terracotta pipes with vitrified mouths and a granite slab, which may have been the anvil, have been recovered. Absence of potsherds and other antiquities has suggested that the smelting place was located outside the boundary of habitation. More furnaces were discovered at the same site with burnt clay pieces with rectangular holes. The pieces were part of the furnace wall, the holes designed to allow a natural draught of air to pass through evenly into the furnace. Many vitrified crucibles were also recovered from this site; one of them notable because it was found in an in situ position.[48] Evidence of steel making is also found in the crucibles excavated at this site.[49] In addition to iron and steel, the metallurgy seems to have possibly extended to copper, bronze, lead, silver and gold objects.[50] At Arikamedu, there were indications of small-scale workshops containing the remains of working in metal, glass, semiprecious stones, ivory and shell.[47] Kodumanal has yielded evidence for the practice of weaving, in the form of a number of intact terracotta spindle whorls pierced at the centre by means of an iron rod, indicating the knowledge of cotton spinning and weaving. To further strengthen this theory, a well preserved piece of woven cotton cloth was also recovered from this site.[51] Dyeing vats were spotted at Arikamedu.[52]
Many brick structures have been located at
Kodumanal was popular for the gem-cutting industry and manufacture of jewels. Sites bearing natural reserves of semi-precious stones such as beryls, sapphire and quartz are located in the vicinity of Kodumanal. Beads of sapphire, beryl, agate, carnelian, amethyst, lapis lazulli, jasper, garnet, soapstone and quartz were unearthed from here. The samples were in different manufacturing stages – finished, semi-finished, drilled and undrilled, polished and unpolished and in the form of raw material. Chips and stone slabs, one with a few grooved beads, clearly demonstrate that these were manufactured locally at Kodumanal.[54] Excavations at Korkai have yielded a large number of pearl oyesters at different levels, indicating the practice of the trade in this region.[55] Some of the objects excavated from Kodumanal show a lot of artistic features such as paintings on the pottery, engravings on the beads, hexagonal designs on beads, inlay work in a tiger figurine and engraved shell bangles. More than ten designs are noticed in the paintings and bead etchings.[56]
There are remnants of many of the items imported from and exported to the Roman empire, at Arikamedu. Imported items recovered from here include ceramics such as amphorae and sherds of Arretine ware, glass bowls, Roman lamps, a crystal gem and an object resembling a stylus. Artifacts that may have been meant for export include jewellery, worked ivory, textiles and perhaps leather or leather-related products.[57] Similar looking ornaments have been recovered from Arikamedu and Palatine Hill in Rome, further confirming that this site was a leading trade center.[47] The Pandyan port city Alagankulam has yielded a rouletted pottery ware that bears the figure of a ship on the shoulder portion. This figure is very similar to a finding reported from Ostia, an ancient port of the Romans.[58] Wharf-like structures found at many port cities indicate that they might have been used as docks. Based on marine explorations of various port-sites, it has been suggested that stone anchors may have been used since as early as the 3rd century BCE.[59]
Inscriptions
During the later half of the 20th century, several inscriptions of the Sangam age have been discovered in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Most of them are written in Tamil-Brahmi script and are found in rocks or on pottery. The information obtained from such inscriptions have been used to corroborate some of the details provided by the Sangam literature.
Cave
The 2nd and 13th rock edicts of Ashoka (273–232 BCE) refers to the Pandyas, Cholas, Cheras and the Satiyaputras. According to the edicts, these kingdoms lay outside the southern boundary of the Mauryan Empire. The Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga King, Kharavela, (c. 150 BCE) refers to the arrival of a tribute of jewels and elephants from the Pandyan king. It also talks about a league of Tamil kingdoms that had been in existence 113 years before then.[60][61] The earliest epigraphic records of the Tamil country in Tamil Nadu were found in
Pottery
Inscriptions on pottery, written in Tamil-Brahmi, have been found from about 20 archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu. Using methods such as stratigraphy and palaeography, these have been dated between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE. Also found in present-day Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka, similar inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found outside the ancient Tamil country in Thailand[68] and the Red Sea coast in Egypt.
Other
The Thiruparankundram inscription found near Madurai in Tamil Nadu and dated on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, refers to a person as a householder from Eelam (Eela-kudumpikan).[71] It reads: erukatur eelakutumpikan polalaiyan – "Polalaiyan, (resident of) Erukatur, the husbandman (householder) from Eelam.[72] Apart from caverns and pottery, Tamil-Brahmi writings are also found in coins, seals and rings of the Sangam age. Many of them have been picked up from the Amaravathi river bed near Karur. A smaller number of inscribed objects have been picked up from the beds of other rivers like South Pennar and Vaigai. An oblong piece of polished stone with Tamil-Brahmi inscription has been located in a museum in the ancient port city of Khuan Luk Pat in southern Thailand. Based on the inscription, the object has been identified as a touchstone (uraikal) used for testing the fitness of gold. The inscription is dated to 3rd or 4th century.[73]
Polity
Epigraphy provides an account of various aspects of Sangam polity and has been used to verify some of the information provided by sources such as literature and numismatics. The names of various kings and chieftains occurring in the inscriptions include Nedunj Cheliyan, Peruvaluthi, Cheras of the Irumporai family, Tittan, Nedunkilli, Adiyaman, Pittan and Korrantai. References to administration includes the chiefs, superintendents, titles of ministers, palace of merchants and the village assembly. Religious references to Buddhist and Jain monks are found frequently, which have provided valuable information explaining the spread of those religions in Tamilakam. Brief mentions of various aspects of the Sangam society such as agriculture, trade, commodities, occupations, the social stratification, flora, fauna, music and dance, names of cities and names of individuals are also found in the inscriptions.[74]
Coins
Another important source of studying ancient Tamil history are the coins that have been found in recent years in the excavations, megaliths, hoards and surface. The coins belonging to the Sangam age, found in
Pandiya
Among the many coins attributed to the early Pandyas, are a series of punch-marked coins made of silver and copper, that are considered to belong to the earliest period. Six groups of silver punch-marked coins and one group of copper coins have been analysed so far. All of these punch-marked coins have a stylised fish symbol on their
Chera
Many of the coins assigned to the Chera kings of Sangam age with a portrait and the legends "Makkotai" or "Kuttuvan Kotai" have been found near the
Among the Chera coins, the "Makkotai series" bears a unique pattern not found in other Tamil coins of its age. They contain both the portrait of a king (facing right) and a written legend, in this case the word "Makkotai" written in Tamil-Brahmi script. These coins exhibit similarities with the Roman coins of emperors Augustus and Tiberius; like the Roman coins, the portraits on the Makkotai series do not show any jewellery on the king.[84] They are thought to be made of two separate pieces joined by lead, a practice prevalent elsewhere in India at that time. Official seals of the bearing the name "Makkotai" have also been recovered from the river bed; these seals contain the portrait facing left and the legend "Makkotai" written backward (right-to-left). The reverse of the seals is blank. The Makkotai coins and the seals have been assigned a date range of 100 BC to end of 100 AD.[85]
Another aspect of the portraits on the Makkotai coins are that they do not have identical head sizes and some facial features also vary from one coin to another, even though they all have the same written legend. Such an observation has been made of coins assigned to the Western Kshatrapas of Gujarat, which are thought to be another inspiration for the Chera coins. Scholars who analyzed the varying portraiture on the Kshatrapa coins have advanced several theories to explain the phenomenon: that the coins could be of different kings who chose to keep the name of an ancestor on their coins or the coins all belong to one king with portraits depicting him at his different ages. Based on such theories, the Chera coins could either belong to a series of rulers or to a single king called Cheraman Makkotai.[85]
Another series of Chera coins depicts various animals along with symbols on its obverse and the Chera emblem on its reverse. Elephant, horse, bull, tortoise and lion are the animals depicted in this series, along with snake and fish. Symbols of inanimate objects include arched hills, battle axe, conch, river, swastika, trident, flowers and the sun.[86]
A few other coins that contain a portrait and a legend have been unearthed; a coin assigned to certain Kuttuvan Kotai with his portrait and the legend "Kuttuvan Kotai" is notable for the occurrence of the "pulli" in the legend. Based on paleography of the script, it has been assigned a date of the late 1st century to early 2nd century AD. A coin belonging to 100 AD with the legend "Kollipurai" and a full-body portrait of a warrior has been assigned to the king Kopperum Cheral Irumporai, as he was known as the victor of Kolli in literature. Another coin of roughly the same period of 100 AD with the legend "Kolirumporaiy" and a warrior portrait has been found; it has not been assigned to a single king, but based on the legend, there are at least six Chera kings who could be associated with it.[87]
A Chera coin with the portrait of a king wearing a Roman helmet was discovered from Karur. The obverse side of the silver coin has the portrait of a king, facing left, wearing a Roman-type bristled-crown helmet. This coin maybelong to the 1st century BC and may be earlier to Makkotai and Kuttuvan Kotai coins. With a flat nose and protruding lips, he has a wide and thick ear lobe but wears no ear-ring. The person depicted appears to be elderly. Unlike other Chera silver portrait coins, the king's portrait on this coin faces left. The coin points to Romans having had trade contacts with the Chera kings and establishes that the Roman soldiers had landed in the Chera country to give protection to the Roman traders who had come there to buy materials.[83]
Archaeological investigations conducted unearthed square or circular Chera coins made of copper from near
Chola
The number of Chola coins discovered so far are not as many as those of Pandyas; most of them have been found from archeological excavations at
Chieftains
Parts of the Sangam age Tamil country were ruled over by several independent chieftains, alongside the three crowned monarchs. Among them, coins belonging to the chieftains of the Malayaman clan have been found in Tamil Nadu. Many of them contain a written legend on the obverse and all of them have the image of a flowing river on their obverse. Based on the legends some of these coins have been assigned to specific rulers such as Tirukkannan, also known as Malaiyan Choliya Enadi Tirukkannan, and Tirumudi Kari. A series of coins without a legend but with a horse as the principal motif on the obverse have been assigned to the Malayaman chieftains, because of the river symbol on the obverse. Numismatist R. Krishnamurthy, dates these coins to the period between 100 BCE and 100 CE.[92]
Sri Lankan
Excavations in the area of Tissamaharama in southern Sri Lanka have unearthed locally issued coins produced between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, some of which carry Tamil personal names written in early Tamil characters, which suggest that Tamil merchants and Sri Lankan Tamils were present and actively involved in trade along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.[93][94]
Notes
- ^ Mahadevan, Iravatham (24 June 2010). "An epigraphic perspective on the antiquity of Tamil". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Subrahmanian. Sangam polity. p. 22.
- ^ Sharma, TRS (2000). Ancient Indian Literature: An Anthology. Vol III. Sahitya Academy, New Delhi. p. 43.
- ^ "Cankam literature". The Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2. 2002. p. 802.
- ^ Rajam, V. S. 1992. A reference grammar of classical Tamil poetry: 150 B.C.-pre-fifth/sixth century A.D. Memoirs of the American philosophical society, v. 199. Philadelphia, Pa: American Philosophical Society. p12
- ^ Dr. M. Varadarajan, A History of Tamil Literature, (Translated from Tamil by E.Sa. Viswanathan), Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1988 p.40
- ^ Sastri. A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar. p. 127.
- ^ Krishnamurthy. Sangam Age Tamil Coins. p. 59.
- ^ Pillay, Sivaraja. Educational system of the ancient Tamils. p. 11.
- ^ Venkata Subramanian. Environment and urbanisation in early Tamilakam. pp. 12–13.
- ^ Subrahmanian. Sangam polity. p. 23.
- ^ Sundararajan. Ancient Tamil Country. p. 3.
- ^ Pillai, J.K. The Chronology of the Early Tamils. p. 8.
- ^ Sastri. The Pandyan Kingdom. pp. 141–5, 21, 31.
- ^ Mukund. The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant. p. 24.
- ^ Husaini. The History of the Pandya Country. p. 7.
- ^ Tieken, Herman Joseph Hugo (2001) Kāvya in South India: old Tamil Caṅkam poetry. Groningen: Egbert Forsten. pp. 229–230
- ^ George Hart III. "Review of Tieken's Kavya in South India." Journal of the American Oriental Institute 124:1. pp. 180–184. 2004.
- ^ G.E. Ferro-Luzzi. "Tieken, Herman, Kavya in South India (Book review). Asian Folklore Studies. June 2001. pp. 3733–74
- ^ Anne E. Monius, Book review, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 61, No. 4 (November 2002), pp. 1404–1406
- ^ Caldwell, Robert. 1974. A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp
- ^ Zvelebil, p. 29
- ^ Champakalakshmi, p. 77
- ^ Cankam literature, The new Encyclopædia Britannica (Vol. 2). Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2002. p. 802
- ^ India, The new Encyclopædia Britannica (Macropædia Vol. 21). Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2002. p. 45
- ^ Sastri. The Pandyan Kingdom: From the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century. p. 12.
- ^ Krishnamurthy. Sangam Age Tamil Coins. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d Subrahmanian. Sangam polity. pp. 20–22.
- ^ a b Husaini. The History of the Pandya Country. p. 6.
- ^ Periplus 54. Original Greek: "Ἡ δὲ Νέλκυνδα σταδίους μὲν ἀπὸ Μουζιρέως ἀπέχει σχεδὸν πεντακοσίους, ὁμοίως διά τε ποταμοῦ (καὶ πεζῇ) καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης, βασιλείας δέ ἐστιν ἑτέρας, τῆς Πανδίονος• κεῖται δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ παρὰ ποταμὸν, ὡσεὶ ἀπὸ σταδίων ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι τῆς θαλάσσης."
- ^ Tambi-Piḷḷai Isaac Tambyah. Psalms of a Saiva Saint. Introduction. pp. 3–4
- ^ Steven E. Sidebotham. (1986). Roman economic policy in the Erythra Thalassa, 30 B.C.-A.D. 217. pp. 32–33
- ^ Jonathan Forbes, George Turnour. (1841). Eleven years in Ceylon: Comprising sketches of the field sports …, Volume 2. pp. 268
- ^ "Strabo XV.1". Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ [1] Archived 23 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Draft Translation of the Weilüe by John Hill
- ^ Abraham, p. 214
- ^ Begley, p. 461
- ^ Rajan, p. 57
- ^ Ramachandran, p. 113
- ^ Tripati et al., pp. 86, 89
- ^ Gaur and Sundaresh, pp. 126–7
- ^ Ramachandran, pp. 92–131
- ^ Abraham, p. 219
- ^ Cooke et al., pp. 342–3, 348–9
- ^ Tripati et al., pp. 86–88
- ^ Gaur and Sundaresh, p. 124
- ^ a b c d Begley, p. 472
- ^ Rajan, pp. 65–66
- ^ Rajan, p. 95
- ^ Rajan, pp. 98–102
- ^ Rajan, p. 67
- ^ Begley, p. 475
- ^ Tripati et al., pp. 86, 88–89
- ^ Rajan, pp. 66–67
- ^ Gaur and Sundaresh, p. 127
- ^ Rajan, p. 141
- ^ Begley, p. 480
- ^ Gaur and Sundaresh, p. 126
- ^ Athiyaman and Jayakumar, p. 1266
- ^ Aiyangar, pp. 7–8
- ^ Krishnamurthy, p. 9
- ^ Mahadevan, p. 7
- ^ Mahadevan, pp. 8–11
- ^ Mahadevan, p. 11
- ^ Mahadevan, pp. 12–21
- ^ Mahadevan, pp. 23–24
- ^ Mahadevan, p. 36
- ^ "Tamil-Brahmi inscription on pottery found in Thailand". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 16 July 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-674-01227-1. p. 48.
- ^ Mahadevan, pp. 43–49
- Tamilnet. Archivedfrom the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
- ISBN 978-2-85539-630-9.
- ^ Mahadevan, pp. 50–51
- ^ Mahadevan, pp. 115–159
- ^ "Karur coins of Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians". The Hindu. India. 3 October 2009.
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 10–11
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 14–20
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 20–23
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 24–26
- ^ Krishnamurthy, p. 46
- ^ Krishnamurthy, p. 11
- ^ "Archaeo metallurgical study on select Pallava coins" (PDF). Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Roman connection in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 28 January 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007.
- ^ "Roman connection in Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 28 January 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007.
- ^ a b Krishnamurthy, pp. 97–103
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 62–96
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 103–107
- ^ "Muziris Tourism, Muziris Heritage Tourism, Muziris Pattanam, Muziris Excavations, Muziris Heritage Tourism Project, Muziris Heritage, Muziris museum, Munambam, Chendamangalam,..." Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ^ "Muziris, at last?". Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ^ "Copper coins of Adi Chera period excavated". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 April 2004. Archived from the original on 29 June 2004.
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 111–130
- ^ Krishnamurthy, pp. 132–148
- ^ Mahadevan, I. "Ancient Tamil coins from Sri Lanka", pp. 152–154
- ^ Bopearachchi, O. "Ancient Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu", pp. 546–549
References
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External links
- "Archaeological Survey of India". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- "Department of Archaeology, Govt. of Tamil Nadu". Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- "Department of Ancient History and Archeology, University of Madras". Archived from the original on 21 July 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- "Sangam age brick temple found near Mahabalipuram". Frontline, The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
- "Sumerian Dictionary". Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.