From Khambat to Kaveripumpattinam to Poompuhar – The excavation, exploration and underwater exploration and excavation!

From Khambat to Kaveripumpattinam to Poompuhar – The excavation, exploration and underwater exploration and excavation!

From S. R. Rao NIO to Ramaswamy and NIOT: S. R. Rao, NIO conducted excavations at the Tranqubar-Poompuhar coastal area during 1960s[1]. He also preliminary underwater exploration and excavation carried on during 1980s[2] and at that time, the TN Government was not so interested in pursuing further under the pretext of funds and other reasons. In fact, the then, CM off TN reportedly and sarcastically remarked, “You are going to prove that the city was submerged and the evidences are excavated, but, our literary evidences already say that.” However, the TN archaeologists, historians, Dravidologists and “myth-makers” always talk glory about submerged cities off Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean off the south. The “Kumarik kandam” has always been favourite topic for them. Anybody, who does not support or talks against it would be dubbed and branded as “the enemy of the Tamils,” “traitor, renegade” and so on. The report of S. R. Rao with all details can be be read from this book[3]. Now SM Ramasamy has brought out details dating the city back to 15,000 YBP, relying upon Grahm Hancock[4].

The Sangam Cholas capital and Port city: The celebrated ancient port capital of Chola is situated on the confluence of the river Kaveri and the Bay of Bengal.  It is believed that the ancient city of Poompuhar was submerged by the sea which finds a detailed description in Manimekhalai. The archaeological explorations have brought to light a large number of evidences indicating the partial submergence of the ancient town. A few brick structures have been found in intertidal zone and explorations in 5 m water depth yielded the evidence of rolled pottery which suggests that some part of habitation was submerged. A shipwreck dated to late 18^th century CE has also been found off Poompuhar in 19 m water depth[5]. This shipwreck is yielding a large number of lead ingots. Tranquebar another site about 15 km south of Poompuhar has remains of Chola, Ducth and Danish period. There is a fort of Dutch settlement at Tranquebar which has been partially submerged in sea. This is an indication of shoreline changes during the last 300 yrs. 

Poompuhar or Kaveripumpattinam: The NIO gives this narrative on Poompuhar[6], “Poompuhar, the submerged ancient port city situated in modern-day Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, might have existed 15,000 years ago, and not 2,500 years ago as was earlier believed”, researchers at the department of remote sensing of Bharathidasan University (BDU) have said[7]. No sample, however, has been collected or dated. A group of researchers from NIOT have been publishing papers in “Current Science” and other journals[8], jointly and individually on the same and similar subject for the last five years[9]. Earlier studies had established that Poompuhar, also called Kaveripoompattinam, had maritime trade links with South East Asia and Egypt, before it disappeared from the maritime map around 1,000 years ago[10]. “While initially it was believed that the port city that gained prominence during the Chola dynasty was around 2,500 years old, the latest study based on offshore explorations and geological features interpreted on the sea floor estimates it was at least 15,000 years old,” the university said in a press release[11].

Poompuhar and Khambat: If scientific dating confirms the estimate, Poompuhar could be the oldest known ‘town’ in India and, arguably, across the world. Similar undersea explorations in the Gulf of Cambay off the Gujarat coast in the early 2000s had discovered a lost city believed to be the ancient Dwaraka, then dated to 7,500 BCE (which predates Mohenjodaro by 4,500 years). Actually, the NIOT announced the discovery of objects and the dates of them recovered during dredging operations at the Khambat. When the discovery was briefed by Dr Murali Manoher Joshi, a Physics Doctorate and Professor teaching physics. However, as he was a BJP Minister at that time, his briefing was criticized and the dating of the objects etc., were questioned by the leftists historians. Even Iravatham Mahadevan reacted to it[12]. Just like “submerged 15,000 years old Poompuhar city,” a submerged city was described with the material evidences recovered. 

Research done in 2019 with NIOT-ships: The Poompuhar study, sponsored by the department of Science and technology and technically supported by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), found structures that could’ve been a harbour, dockyards, human settlements and a lighthouse, around 40km from the present coast, at a depth of 50m-100m. Sometime in the middle of 2019, when scientists on board Sagar Tara and Sagar Anveshika, research vessels from the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), neared Poompuhar off the Tamil Nadu coast, they knew they were floating over history. Just that they didn’t know how old the civilization, whose remnants lay about 100m beneath their feet, was. Poompuhar, the ancient Tamil port city lost to the sea, was earlier believed to have been about 2,500 years old, when the Chola kings set sail to capture distant lands in the east.

The 15,000 years – is assumed: Now, the research team from Bharathidasan University’s Department of remote sensing says they have reasons to believe it was 15,000 years old. The study, sponsored by the Department of science and Technology and technically supported by NIOT, compared offshore exploration findings near the Poompuhar coast with sea level data generated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In the next phase, NIOT will collect samples from the sea to substantiate the findings. The team said the geological features of the sea floor – a harbour, dockyards, human settlements and a lighthouse -have matched sea level conditions that existed 15,000 years ago.

Research carried on with Remote sensing methods: “Poompuhar had a harbour that sprawled over 11km in length and 3km in breadth, with breakwaters and canals to handle and store merchandise. We have found evidence of a primitive dockyard that could handle 70-80 ships at a time,” S M Ramasamy, professor of eminence and national coordinator, Project Poompuhar, Bharathidasan University, said. The university has published the part on harbour in the journal ‘Current Science’. D Rajasekhar, head, NIOT vessel management cell, said the team studied around 6,000sqkm and found most of the ruins at a depth of 25m to 50m below the seabed. A multibeam echosounder attached to the ship was used to study the variation in depth of the sea (bathymetry). Based on data collected by the echosounder, a sub-bottom profiler mapped the seafloor. In the next phase, NIOT will deploy a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to capture images.

Photos taken by remotely operated vehicle (ROV): “We have completed a trial run with an ROV, which was attached with a camera and a sonar. We plan to collect some coring samples,” he said. The study found rowed settlements with compound walls and geological evidence of pits dug on the seafloor. Remains of an ancient lighthouse were found at a depth of 50m, with a spiral staircase and causeway pillars having a design like the Cleopatra lighthouse of Egypt. So, how did the old city go under? Ramaswamy said the region was prone to floods, tsunamis and accelerated impact of sea level rise and cyclone-induced storms.

Poompuhar was relocated at least six times before settling down at the present place: “Poompuhar was relocated at least six times before settling down at the present place. Due to marine transgression, the sea might have reached the land till the present day Mayiladuthurai around 6,000 years ago and regressed later,” the project coordinator said. Around 12 government and private educational institutions including Tamil University, Annamalai University and SASTRA University will be engaged in further studies of the research. “The study will go on for another year and the findings will encourage a similar study to explore Kumari Kandam, a mythical lost continent in the Indian Ocean,” the research team said. (With inputs from U Tejonmayam).

Concluding remarks: Any way, going through all data and information, the following points may have to be kept in mind:

1. The Sangam literature has been dated from 300 BCE to 100 CE, and the Sangam period has been fixed accordingly.
2. Recently, based on the single C-14 dating of Keeladi sample, the 580 BCE date is claimed for the Sangam period.
3. Thus, the “historic period” of Sangam period is claimed to precede the Asokan period of 3^rd cent.BCE.
4. However, there has not been any inscription found comparable to the Asokan inscriptions, as the claim is made on few  “marks” found on potsherds.
5. However, there has not been any consensus among the historians and archaeologists, as the town formation and other material evidences do not go back to such 6^th cent BCE period.
6. Here, now no sample has been collected and therefore scientific dating cannot be thought of.
7. The “15,000” years claim has been far-feteched and has no historical basis.
8. No human habitation is proved for the different levels assumed for the existence of a city based on the photographs.
9. They also claim that they would excavate for “Kumarik kandam,” another myth floated by the Tamil protagonists and linguistic enthusiasts.
10. Under the guise of “scientific studies,” such claims need not be made and news created sending wrong signals to the general public.

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

22-01-2023 / revised 15-04-2023

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[1] S.R.Rao, Excavations at Kaveripattinam, Transactions of Archaeological Society of South India, Madras, 1965.

[2] S. R. Rao, Marine archaeological explorations of Tranqubar-Poompuhar region of Tamil Nadu coast, Journal of Marine Archaeology, Goa,1991, No.2, pp.5-20.

S. R. Rao, Underwater explorations of submerged towns near Tranquebar Tamil Nadu, Recent Advances in marie archaeology, Goa, 1991, pp.60-64.

[3] S. R. Rao, Marine Arhaeology in India, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi,  2001, See Chapter-VI – Discovery of Poompuhar submerged in the Bay of Bengal, pp.169-192.

[4] Hancock, G., Underworld: The Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age, Penguin Books, London, 2002, p. 741.

[5] https://www.nio.org/galleries/show/poompuhar

[6] Times of India, Tamil Nadu’s Poompuhar may be over 15,000 years old: Study, DEEPAK KARTHIK / TNN / Updated: Jan 21, 2023, 05:03 IST.

[7] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/tamil-nadus-poompuhar-may-be-over-15000-years-old-study/articleshow/97186246.cms

[8] SM. Ramasamy1, J. Saravanavel, K. Palanivel, C. J. Kumanan and D. Rajasekhar, Detection of submerged harbour using GEBCO and MBES data, in the offshore region of ancient port city Poompuhar,South India, Current Science, Vol.119, No.3, 10 august, 2020, pp.526-534.

Click to access 0526.pdf

[9] Lissa, M., et al. “Semantic data model for knowledge representation and dissemination of cultural heritage site, Poompuhar.” CURRENT SCIENCE 123.10 (2022): 1237.

[10] The Hindu, Ancient port city of Poompuhar traced undersea, claim researchers, S. Ganesan, January 20, 2023 10:12 pm | Updated January 21, 2023 06:10 pm IST.

[11] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ancient-port-city-of-poompuhar-traced-undersea-claim-researchers/article66413969.ece

[12] Frotline, ‘Be sceptical, and not negative and destructive’, Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan. Published : Mar 30, 2002 00:00 IST.

https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article30244518.ece

60 silver cubes with Sanskrit inscriptions found by fisherman from the bottom of the River Sowe in south Coventry!

60 silver cubes with Sanskrit inscriptions found by fisherman from the bottom of the River Sowe in south Coventry!

60 silver cubes found by fisherman of England: During the lockdown period, Indian fishermen have been indulging in politics, groupism, demanding compensation etc., the English fisherman finds hoard of Silver cubes. A magnet fisherman out with his two young sons at a river in Coventry reeled in almost 60 mysterious metal cubes made of Silver thought to show a sacred numerical inscription[1]. Will Read found the haul of engraved lead squares – believed to be connected to a mystical Hindu prayer ritual – while out sifting through shallow water[2]. The faces of the objects, small enough to hold between finger and thumb, are set into neat grids with inscriptions thought to be in Sanskrit[3]. At first, Will, 38, from Finham, thought the cubes were just random pieces of debris littering the bottom of the River Sowe in south Coventry[4]. But as he and sons Jackson, five, and Benjamin, seven, took a closer look on Friday (May 8, 2020), they noticed the detailed inscriptions set onto the faces of the squares.

Will Read posted images in the Facebook: Will Read said[5]: “We were out magnet fishing as our daily activity in lockdown and we were at a relatively isolated spot. At first we found keys and pennies and other bits and bobs and then we looked down and saw what we thought were tiles……I was live-streaming to friends on Facebook and I bent down and started picking them up. I also thought they might be rocks. I showed them to the camera and as I looked back more and more kept appearing.” Tidying up the haul, Will posted images of the cubes on Facebook and content sharing website Reddit to try and find out more about his unusual catch[6].  Good that English fisherman uses Facebook for useful purposes.

The cubes are connected with some Hindu ritual: Based on the responses, he believes the objects are connected to a Hindu prayer ritual[7]. The cubes, which were small enough to hold between finger and thumb, weighed 125 grams each[8].   “There were all sorts of stories flying around at first, the cubes really captured people’s imaginations,” Will said. “What I learned is that they are Indian in origin and they show incantations for prayers which take effect when they are thrown in running water.” Other than a different face on one side, all of the cubes are identical, possibly because they contain a numerical formula to summon the protection of Rahu, described by the Shrivinayaka Astrology website as a planet with God-like powers. Rahu’s sphere of control includes thieves, magicians, snakes, poison, jails and isolated places, according to the resource. Each cube weighs 125 grams means, the weight of 60 cubes = 7500 gms and its rate is Rs. 3.5 lakhs in India. Had it been in Tamilnadu, what would have been happened.

Some suggested – ‘yantra’ – mystical diagrams: Responses to the pictures on social media suggest the characters are in Sanskrit, the liturgical language of Hinduism, and show ‘yantra’ – mystical diagrams that are used for worship. One of most likely explanations comes from a beach combing website, where one contributor describes similar finds of “numerical planetary yantras made of solid lead.” A numerical formula contained within the cubes is said by the finder to relate to Rahu. Worshippers who place the “so-called magic square” in running water receive his protection from “hidden enemies, wrong diagnosis of illness and deceit”, according to the contributor. In India, amulets, yantra / chakra plates have been in common use. Cubical yantras perhaps, so far, not yet been reported or known. But, such variety has been recovered proves that they were available in India. As the times changed with the rulers, the tantric practices were curtailed and perhaps, such cubical yantras disappeared. In the private collections and museums, they could have been found, but, unnoticed by the researchers.

Will Read wants to know more about the cubes: However, the puzzle is from complete, as no one has been able to put a date on the objects or to explain why so many would end up being thrown into a quiet river in Coventry. Will has returned on two more occasions to the spot, the precise location of which he does not want to disclose, and has also found a silver coin which was lying by the cubes. He now has almost 60 of the relics.  “The more I learn the stranger it becomes,” Will said. “No one can explain why there would be so many of these cubes in one place. It feels incredibly unusual to have found so many.” Will now plans to go back to the river with a shovel to remove even more of the cubes. He said: “I will get them appraised to find out more about what they are and how much they are worth. I could be sitting on an absolute pool of cash, or they could be worth nothing. But I won’t make any decision on what to do with them until I’ve found out more about exactly what they are.”

Yet some other suggested they are – ‘Magic’ squares[9] : The comment reads, “Based on another comment these are Indian numerals:

15	8	13
10	12	14
11	16	9

All rows, columns, and diagonals add up to 36, this makes it a magic square! But more specifically, they are called Navagraha Yantras. There are traditionally 9 of them (one for each “planet”), each having a distinct combination of 9 numbers. Together they can be combined to form their own “Magic square.” “The words on the bottom are some form of either: om raam rahave namah om raag rahave namah or simply, om rahave namah[10]. These are called Beej (seed) mantras.” Apparently, “the placement of Lead (raanga) in running water is particularly important in this practice as a remedy for specific things and astrological circumstances.” The magic squares have been found in many temple pillars.

Latin Squares, Magic, and Euler: Moreover, as another Redditor points out, they are interesting in the mathematical-front too. “Magic squares (and a similar concept, known as Latin squares) can function as numeric representations of resource distribution and scheduling problems, where you need to ensure that every entity is treated equally.” Mathematic-enthusiasts can check out this thread which touches upon everything from magic cubes to famous conjectures of Euler’s work on Latin squares. However, these are not for certain and the cubes still remain a mystery. The mystery isn’t solved yet in its entirety, and we still don’t know how 60 of them ended up in a quiet river in Coventry. So, are they cursed or not? You be the judge. Thus, the British paper ends. So, mathematical experts could also research into such mathematical cubes and unravel the unknown details and reveal to others for understanding.

One coin with Durga and Sri found with the 60 silver cubes.

One coin with Durga and Sri found with the 60 silver cubes.

The coins with Sri and Durga have been common in India.

So what are these mysterious cubes?[11]: The oldest known lead artifacts date back 6,000 years, and dating some random lead items found in a river will require an expert. The fact that they’re Hindu makes a difference, but people moving from India to England date back 500 years to Elizabethan times. While lead leaches into drinking water based on many factors including pH, temperature, and how old the pipes are, some lead items sitting in cool, freshwater could last a very long time. One thorough answer on Reddit explains that they appear to be prayer tokens of a sort. In Hindu astrology, as in Greco-Roman and others, the classical planets each have a representation. And the classical elements are linked with planets as well, intertwined in the histories of alchemy and fortune-telling.

In Roman astrology, lead is the element linked with Saturn—the planet as well as the god. In Hindu astrology, lead is linked with one side of the moon’s orbit, known as Rahu. Something people noted about the cubes is that they’re engraved with magic squares. These are grids of integers with properties that resemble and exceed sudoku grids: each row, column, and diagonal adds up to the same universal value. Within Hindu worship, these can be used as yantra, or sacred grids or geometries. Rahu’s yantra appears on these cubes, indicating they were designed to be used as prayers or offerings to Rahu or as part of another ritual. (Update: A reader wrote to say another item in the find shows “the Hindu goddess Durga, the Mother Goddess, riding her vahana, the lion,” so this could be a prayer to her[12].)

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

16-05-2020

[1] CoventryLive, ByJosh Layton, Mystery as 60 peculiar cubes with inscriptions pulled from Coventry river, 05:00, 12 MAY 2020UPDATED14:54, 12 MAY 2020.

[2] https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/mystery-60-peculiar-cubes-inscriptions-18232422?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar&fbclid=IwAR2wvNV1OGVMEYKLHsW1Q8pbViYfVtlNPra3gtnYCusAGhTNyMcJoXogAI4

[3] Express, Fisherman baffled after pulling 60 mystery cubes with bizarre inscriptions from UK river, By BILL MCLOUGHLIN, 14:33, Thu, May 14, 2020 | UPDATED: 15:04, Thu, May 14, 2020

[4] https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1282239/mystery-cubes-river-stowe-coventry-hindu-ritual-cubes

[5] Daily Star, Mystery as 60 metal cubes with detailed inscriptions pulled from river, 5/13/2020, 4:04:13 PM

[6] https://theworldnews.net/gb-news/mystery-as-60-metal-cubes-with-detailed-inscriptions-pulled-from-river

[7] Popular Mechanics, Fisherman Catches Sacred Math Cubes, Internet Goes on Scavenger Hunt, BY CAROLINE DELBERT, MAY 14, 2020.

[8] https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32472614/mysterious-sacred-math-cubes/

[9] Interesting Engineering, Magnet Fisherman Finds 60 Mysterious Cubes With Inscriptions in Coventry River, By Derya Ozdemir, May 13, 2020

[10] https://interestingengineering.com/magnet-fisherman-finds-60-mysterious-cubes-with-inscriptions-in-coventry-river

[11] Popular Mechanics, Fisherman Catches Sacred Math Cubes, Internet Goes on Scavenger Hunt, BY CAROLINE DELBERT, MAY 14, 2020.

[12] https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32472614/mysterious-sacred-math-cubes/