Evidence for Indo-Roman Trade from Bet Dwarka Waters, West Coast of India

Abstract

India had a very active maritime trade contact with the Roman world between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD. In this context recent finds of stone anchors, potsherds, lead anchors and a lead ingot from 5 to 8 m water-depth near Bet Dwarka jetty is significant. The sherds include amphoras, jars, bowls and lids. Archaeological finds along the Indian coast and comparison between amphoras from Bet Dwarka and the Mediterranean suggest that the artefacts from Bet Dwarka may be datable to between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The numbers of stone anchors suggests that this was an ancient anchorage.

Survey Results from Lagos Bay, Portugal

“…A final means of understanding the maritime interface of the city in this non‐intrusive project was to locate shipwrecks and artefacts that can be tied to the city's role in trade and transportation. The location of wrecks was considered an important part of the project because the study of these sites can contribute to the understanding of a port's capacity (Boetto, ), as well as determine the common trade routes and the volume of trade (Gaur and Tripati, ).…”

Balancing the Trade: Roman Cargo Shipments toIndia

“…This may also potentially be reflected in the lead ingots found alongside Roman amphorae in shipwrecks at Bet Dwarka (Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat; see Gaur et al . , 117–27) and possibly Abu Fendera (Blue et al . , 94–6).…”

Archaeology of Trade in the Western Indian Ocean, 300 BC–AD 700

“…Sites are distributed all over South Asia, with clusters on the coasts of Gujarat, Maharastra, South India, Sri Lanka, and Andhra Pradesh. Such early historical ports as Dwarka (Gaur et al 2006), Kamrej (Gupta et al 2004), and Elephanta Island (Tripathi 2004), as well as the inland center of Nevasa (Gupta 1998;Gupta et al 2001), do not figure prominently in literary sources but nevertheless appear to have been significant focal points of regional and long-distance exchange (see also Smith 2002). Imported pottery is not limited to Mediterranean and Mesopotamian wares but also include vessels of Arabian (Selvakumar et al 2009, p. 34) and probably Aksumite origin (cf.…”