Pattanam is a village located in the Ernakulam District in the southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

. It is located 2 km north of

North Paravur North Paravur. formerly known as Paravur or Parur, is a municipality and suburb in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a northern suburb of the city of Kochi and is situated around 20 km from the city centre. It is ...

, 6 km and East of

Chendamangalam Chendamangalam (or Chennamangalam) is a small town and a panchayat in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala, India. Location It is about 23 km from Ernakulam. It has three rivers, seven inlets, hillocks and large ex ...

25 km north of

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

(Cochin).

History

A branch of the Kanjirapuzha, called the Kanjirapuzha Thodu (Kanjirapuzha canal), runs close to Pattanam. Satellite imagery, a clear geological evidence, indicated that the old name of Pattanam is Pashnam. Moreover, the residents of Pattanam regularly used to find a large amount of broken pottery shards and ancient fired bricks while digging the ground. The Pattanam old name is Pashnam.And the junction of Pattanam is called Pashnam kavala.

Archaeological excavations

The site for archaeological research at Pattanam (10°09.434’N; 76°12.587’E) covers about 45 hectares. Due to habitation activities it is a "disturbed" site; some parts are partially destroyed due to sand quarrying. The multi-disciplinary and multi-seasonal archaeological research at Pattanam from 2007 undertaken by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) is a pioneering initiative in the history of Kerala Archaeology. Square copper coins (on one side an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

and on the other bows and arrows) had been found at the site. These types of coins were issued in the beginning of Christian era. At the same time there is lack of evidence to show that the artifacts unearthed at Pattanam came specifically from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It is necessary to get information that these are connected directly to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Excavated antiquities include Chera coins, Amphora, Terra Sigillatta, Cameo Blanks made of semi-precious stones and stone and glass beads in large quantity. Remains of brick structures made of burned bricks were also found there. A wharf context with a six m dugout canoe made of ''anjili'' wood and bollards made of teak wood and a large quantity of botanical remains were found.

Excavations 2010

Findings: Antiquities of small size - beads of both semi-precious stones and glass, pendants or lockets cameo blanks, coins, (predominantly early Chera coins, with symbols of elephant, bow and arrow) objects or fragments of objects made of iron, copper, lead and rarely gold, and sherds of Indian and foreign pottery. A broken rim with Tamil Brahmi script. This is the first pre-firing pottery inscription finding at Pattanam. Enormous quantity of local pottery of the early Historic Period, which is dated between first century BC and fourth century AD, showing that this was the peak activity stage of Pattanam.

Excavations 2011

The excavations at Pattanam sheds new light on the life and times of the ancient Kerala. The finds this year include iron and copper nails,

Roman glass Roman glass objects have been recovered across the Roman Empire in domestic, industrial and funerary contexts. Glass was used primarily for the production of vessels, although mosaic tiles and window glass were also produced. Roman glass productio ...

, Chola coins, terracotta and semi precious stone beads.

Criticisms

Former Director of the

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

State

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

Department R. Nagaswamy is of opinion that it is not yet time to identify Pattanam as

Muziris Muziris ( grc, Μουζιρίς, Old Malayalam: ''Muciri'' or ''Muciripattanam'' possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyirikode'') was an ancient harbour and an urban centre on the Malabar Coast. Muziris found mention in the ''Periplus of ...

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in ...

also is to be excavated before coming to a conclusion.

requires a lot of evidence before arriving at any conclusion.The Hindu (

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

edition) Friday 5 August 2011, Page 9 Romila Thapar has expressed her reservations on the use of ancient DNA sampling techniques, raising doubts whether there was the danger of bacterial contaminations or mutations in samples taken from skeletons that were buried for over 2,000 years. She however describes Pattanam as "a turning point for studies into India’s maritime relations.". Historian M.G.S. Narayanan says that Pattanam is not Muziris and that Muziris is Kodungallur. The second Chera dynasty ruled was kodungallur. The Jewish copper plate inscriptions of 1000 AD says that Kodungallur is ''Muyirikkode''. ''Muyirikkode'' is another name of Muziris. According to him, it is the clear evidence that Kodungallur is Muziris. The identification of Pattanam as Muziris is a divisive subject among some of the historians of south India. "Whether Pattanam was Muziris is not of immediate concern to us," the chief of the Kerala Council for Historical Research recently stated to the media. Even the last field report on the excavations (2013) explicitly shows Pattanam as Muziris. S. ANANDAN ''Was Pattanam an urban trade centre?'' 28 May 2014 ''The Hindu'

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References

Resources

BBC report, Search for India's ancient city
{{Ernakulam-geo-stub Archaeological sites in Kerala Tourist attractions in Ernakulam district Villages in Ernakulam district