A team of archaeologists from Tirupur-based Virarajendran Archaeological and Historical Research Centre has discovered a 2,100-year-old Roman coin and five Roman coins used 1,700 years ago, along with some artefacts, pointing to the evidences of trade conducted by the Romans in the region.
S. Ravikumar, one of the archaeologists who discovered the ancient items, told The Hindu that the coins have been lying about 40 km from Tirupur situated along the ancient route that the Romans used during the Sangam era to carry out trade within Chera kingdom.
“The Romans who landed in the Western part of the country at a place called Muziris near the present day Kodungallur in Kerala, have then travelled along the Palghat Pass to reach the present western Tamil Nadu, all of which was under the control of Chera dynasty, to carry out the trade,” he explained.
References of various types of trades conducted by Romans during the Chera dynasty had already found a place in Sangam literature.
About the coins discovered, the team members said that the 2,100-year-old coin was made of silver with gods figures embossed on the surface.
“The remaining ones are copper coins with some of them having letters printed in neat formats which are typical of Roman imprint,” Mr. Ravikumar said.
