Kodumanal is a village located in the

Erode district Erode District is one of the 38 Districts of Tamil Nadu, districts in the south Indian States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It was the largest district by area in the state before the formation of Tirupur district in 2009 ...

in the southern Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in ''Patittrupathu'' of

Sangam Literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

. The place is an important archaeological site, under the control of State Archaeological Department of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the northern banks of Noyyal River, a tributary of the

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

The ancient city

The inhabitants of this destroyed ancient city of

Chera dynasty The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

were highly skilled craftsmen, who were specialized in making beads and high-quality iron. The place is referred to in Sangam literature as an important industrial centre that had links with the Chola port city of Kaveripoompattinam, now called

Poompuhar Poompuhar is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town, also known as Puhar, is referred to as Kaveri Poompattinam in ancient Tamil literature. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as ...

Roman trade route

The city played a major role in Indo-Roman trade and relations, as the ancient city is located on the mid-way of a Roman trade route, linking

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

port on the Malabar Coast with the Kaveripoompattinam ( Puhar) Port in the Coromandel Coast.

Iron and metal

The iron and steel furnaces and iron artefacts produced in these places revealed the technical advancement made by the iron smelters around 500 BC. The excavated sword bit contained spheroidal graphite phase and forge welding of high-carbon cutting edge. This place was once celebrated for its trade in precious stones like garnet, carnelian,

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...

, sapphire and quartz. The people of this city were experts in manufacturing the finest iron.

Collections

Excavations uncovered ancient iron objects such as arrow heads and swords. They also produced Roman artefacts, iron melting furnaces, beads, shell bangles and pottery with the Tamizhi scripts (from the habitation deposits and burials). Other artifacts uncovered during the excavation of this site include roulette pottery, Roman silver coins, and gold and silver spirals. A bronze statue of a lion and the iron melting furnaces were important to deciphering the site's history.

References

External links

* * * http://kodumanal.blogspot.com/2008/07/genesis-of-ukku-insights-from.html * http://kodumanal.blogspot.com/2008/07/anchor.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20060321084351/http://www.thebeadsite.com/UNI-MAPS.html * http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T-Anth/Anth-06-0-000-000-2004-Web/Anth-06-2-091-157-2004-Abst-PDF/Anth-06-2-105-112-2004-Reddy-V-R/Anth-06-2-105-112-2004-Reddy-V-R.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20110721154746/http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/2000c951-385.pdf * http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article3465932.ece {{Erode district Villages in Erode district History of Tamil Nadu Tamil history Ancient Indian cities Former populated places in India Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu Sangam period