Kodumanal
Encyclopedia
Kodumanal is a village located in the Erode district
in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu
. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature
. The place is a 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.
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.
Port i.e. Pattanam on the Malabar Coast with the Kaveripoompattinam (Puhar
) Port in the Coromandel Coast.
, Sapphire and Quartz. The people of this city were experts in manufacturing the finest iron. The Iron Pillar in Qutub Complex in Delhi, a rustless wonder was built by the Wrought iron
produced from this place.
The other collections from the excavation of this site includes Roulette Pottery, Roman Silver Coins, and Gold and Silver Spirals.
And a Bronze Statue of a Lion and an Iron melting furnace were the important one's helpful in deciding the past history.
Erode District
Erode District is a western district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with Erode as its headquarters. Until the year 1996, Erode district was called as Periyar District....
in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature
Sangam literature
Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...
. The place is a important Archaeological Site, under the control of State Archaeological Department of Tamil Nadu. It is Located on the northern banks of Noyyal River
Noyyal River
The Noyyal River rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, southeastern India and drains into the Kaveri River. The river's basin is long and wide and covers a total area of . Cultivated land in the basin amounts to while the population density is 120 people per km² ...
, a tributary of the Cauvery.
The Ancient City
The inhabitants of this destructed ancient city of Chera dynastyChera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
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.
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 MuzirisMuziris
Muziris is an ancient sea-port in Southwestern India on the Periyar River 3.2 km from its mouth. The derivation of the name Muziris is said to be from "Mucciripattanam," "mucciri" means "cleft palate" and "pattanam" means "city". Near Muziris, Periyar River was branched into two like a...
Port i.e. Pattanam on the Malabar Coast with the Kaveripoompattinam (Puhar
Puhar
Puhar is a town in the Nagapattinam district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri puhum pattinam, which for a while served as the capital of the early Chola kings in Tamilakkam.It is located near the end point of the Kaveri river,...
) Port in the Coromandel Coast.
Megalithic Tombs
Excavations have been carried out and it came out with the layers of a megalithic-cum-early tombs of historic period. Also there were two female and one male human skeleton were recovered from a pit burial in this site. A set of 300 megalithic tombs of different types and sizes were observed and recorded in this area.The ancient city has been destructed in time and now the area is available with the remains of a megalithic settlement dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. Apparently, this was the centre for the Romans who visited to obtain beryls from Kodumanal.The megalithic communities flourished in this site were belongs to the period of 2nd Century B.C. to 2nd Century A.D.Iron and Metal
The Iron & Steel furnaces and Iron artefacts produced in these places revealed the technical advancement made by the iron smelters around 500 B.C. 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 LazuliLapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color....
, Sapphire and Quartz. The people of this city were experts in manufacturing the finest iron. The Iron Pillar in Qutub Complex in Delhi, a rustless wonder was built by the Wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
produced from this place.
Collections
Excavations also came out with ancient iron objects such as Arrow heads and Swords. Also they have collected Roman artefacts, iron melting furnaces, beads, shell bangles and pottery with the Brahmi scripts from the habitation deposits and burials. The ancientThe other collections from the excavation of this site includes Roulette Pottery, Roman Silver Coins, and Gold and Silver Spirals.
And a Bronze Statue of a Lion and an Iron melting furnace were the important one's helpful in deciding the past history.
External links
- http://books.google.co.in/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA402&lpg=PA402&dq=kodumanal+called+as&source=bl&ots=xcdC8QeVjA&sig=AUsc9aTBsG5d-EzNqgRm2esbDoc&hl=en&ei=a5xbTZ39N4a4vgP4jOnfDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBgQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q&f=false
- http://books.google.co.in/books?id=zzZBdGQN_TIC&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=kodumanal+called+as&source=bl&ots=eY2rXArdfM&sig=FawJfjzSIwiYR3UGbwr1Xx6PZa4&hl=en&ei=a5xbTZ39N4a4vgP4jOnfDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=kodumanal%20called%20as&f=false
- http://kodumanal.blogspot.com/2008/07/genesis-of-ukku-insights-from.html
- http://kodumanal.blogspot.com/2008/07/anchor.html
- 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
- http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/2000c951-385.pdf