Arikamedu

Monica Jain, curator-director of Art Centrix Space brings to light a two thousand years old Roman settlement in south India that inspired her to curate a new exhibition of contemporary Indian art in Delhi.

On a trip to Puducherry last year, one of the key places on my to-do list was Arikamedu. Hidden in plain sight, but well marked on Google maps, Arikamedu is just seven kilometers off the main city of Puducherry along the river Ariyankuppam at the point where the river joins the Bay of Bengal. The site has been identified with the place name Poduke cited in the Periplus Maris Erythraei and the ‘Podouke emporion’ mentioned by Ptolemy (150 AD).

As I approached the site, my mind conjured up images of exceptional ancient objects surfacing in archaeological digs - an engraved emblem of emperor Augustus, an ivory handle, terracotta figurines, terra sigillata cups and plates, typically Roman exquisite rouletted ware, wine amphorae, blue glazed faience, Roman clay lamps and Mediterranean clay objects, shell beads, gems, gold, terracotta, bits of semiprecious stones, red fragment of a Roman lamp shade and pieces of Roman glass bowls. In fact, it is said the Romans decried the loss of silver on Indian imports that were in great demand in those times!