Arikamedu Beads

Chennai saw a few days of heavy rain in August 2010. When the rain stops, it is always a great time to visit archaeological sites! The entire area is washed clean, the dust settles and the hidden artifacts emerge on the surface making it easier for us to make new discoveries.

This time we chose to visit the ancient Indo-Roman site of Arikamedu. This site has always been of great interest to archaeologists. The earliest documented excavation was by Mortimer Wheeler in the 1940's. He was a well respected and heavily published archaeologist. He conducted an extensive excavation at Arikamedu. This excavation threw up so many artifacts that it brought to light a very important period of India's past; the Indo-Roman trade. However, at that time there was a lot of debate as to the origin of these artifacts. It was concluded at that time that most artifacts found there were of Roman origin and that a lot of pottery techniques found in India originated from Roman techniques. Of the objects found, the most numerous were glass beads and stone beads. This was followed by Roman pottery shards, Red & Black ware, Polished ware and some coarse indigenous terracotta.

Image1: Workers excavating at Arikamedu. Wheeler.

ABOVE: Image 2: Brick walls exposed along the river bank. Wheeler.
BELOW: Image 3: View of river bank covered with bushes and litter. August 2010

Over the years there have been many other excavations. In the 1980's, Vimala Begley conducted vast excavations at the site. She helped to establish a longer continuity of the region. Her findings allowed us to understand that Arikamedu existed before the arrival of the Romans. There is extensive evidence of Red Ware, Red & Black Ware and Black Ware that are found in habitation mounds all over the area. As recent as January 2010, a sarcophagus and pottery were found a couple of kilometers away from the Arikamedu site. [Link to Article]

Peter Francis Jr. has also greatly contributed the the better understanding of this site. More of his fascinating work can be seen here: Google Books

Today, there is a much larger understanding of Arikamedu, its strategic location, its people and its association with the Indo-Roman trade. Over the years, layer upon layer has been added to the story of Arikamedu by its various researchers. To get a better understanding, one has to see the larger picture.

Arikamedu Timeline:
Arikamedu has been occupied of rover 2700 years. There is evidence that Pandukal people (commonly known as the "megalithic" people) settled in this area in the late Iron age around 500 BCE. There is extensive evidence of large stone circles and dolmens all over the area. There is evidence that this population traded Iron and beads with other regions in India as far away as Gujarat.

The Romans arrived in India through the sea route somewhere around 50BCE in the West coast of India during the rule of Agustus. After initial survey and trade inquiry, it is possible that they figured out a trade route through the Gulf of Mannar, made contact with Ceylone and up the East coast of India and finally reaching China.

There is some evidence that the Bead Trade in Arikamedu flurished till about 300 AD and later moved to an entirely new location at Papanaidupet.

Beads of Arikamedu:
Irrespective of the many types of artifacts found at Arikamedu, beads stand out the most. They are tiny however, found in the millions. This is not an arbitrary figure. Beads were the single larges quantity of products exported from India at that time. Even today, after numerous excavations, one can find thousands of beads scattered on the ground all over the site.

Quartz fragment with facets. 23mm Length

Black Glass Bead. 3mm in diameter

Blue Glass Bead found between pottery shards. 3.5 mm in diameter

Discarded end of glass tube. At the bottom of the above image, a 2mm diameter Black Glass Bead can be seen

Glass bead with collars. 11 mm length

Blue glass fragment.

A trip to the Madras Museum on Madras Day

This August 22nd a group of us visited the Madras Museum, Egmore to see a display of Urns from the Kilpauk excavations. This is a very important find as it creates a timeline of continuous habitation around Madras from around the Megalithic period (100BCE - 300 AD). Unfortunately only two Urns were on display. It was sad to see that the authorities had used upside down tables as stands for the Urns!






Please read the text in the image for more details.


After this we decided to visit the main gallery. Here we came across some beads that were on display from Mohenjo Daro. There was a set of three Carnelian Beads as well as Terracotta beads that were elongated with tapering ends.

Grooved Terracotta Bead

This is a grooved terracotta bead. The bead is 18 x 18 MM in diameter. Found in Kumbakkonam at the Cauvery river bed.

The interesting feature is that it is grooved. Age is unknown.

Terracotta Bead

This is a terracotta bead found in Kumbakkonam. It was probably found in the Cauvery riverbed. This bead is 23mm in diameter and 14mm thick. It seems to have a tapered edge.

There are some references to terracotta beads from archaeological excavations. This bead, since it was found in the river, shows erosion damage. The bead has a rough surface.

The exact age of this kind of bead cannot be fixed but in association with the other objects it was found with, it can be dated to around the 10th - 12th century AD.

Excavation at Sengalur near Pudukottai

THIS ARTICLE IS FROM : TIMES OF INDIA, THURSDAY, 12th AUGUST 2010

Please click on the image to read it in a larger format.


It is interesting to note that this site too has around 500 burials and has produced glass and stone beads. The appearance of glass beads can confirm that this site could have existed until 300 - 400 CE.

The presence of a furnace for glass bead making is a rather important find. This will now mean that Sengalur was also making beads along with Arikamedu, Kodumanal & Puranthal. As more excavations are taking place we are getting a picture that looks like bead making was more localized than thought so before.

Grooved Glass Bead

This is a unique glass bead that was found in the river bed around Karur. This bead has a groove on both ends. This is the only one of this variety found so far in the riverbeds.

Garnet Bead

This is a beautifully worked garnet bead. Garnet is supposed to be one of the harder beads to drill.

Banded Agate Bead

Agate Bead

Round Agate Bead

This Agate bead was photographed in Tanjavur. It was in the shop of a jeweller who had bought it from a river bed panner. This bead appears to be polished but is still in a crude and pitted state. Perhaps this bead was rejected due to the naturally occurring flaw seen in the picture below. This bead exhibits a very interesting feature of the bead making process.

This bead would have first been found in a rough state. This rough would have been brought to the manufacturing area. Here the bead would have been chipped to form a round shape. Then the bead was sent for drilling. This bead shows deep concave shapes formed around the perforation. This was created by the drilling process. The hole would have been drilled with a bow around a long stick on whose end a diamond chip would have been stuck. This process is still done in the few surviving bead manufacturers workshops in Kangayam. This bead seems to have been polished after the drilling but not brought to a definite shape as the defect in the stone would have made the polisher reject the stone.

This bead is 14 MM in diameter and 9 mm in height.
This bead can be dated to being approximately between 300 BCE - 300 AD
The source of this material would have probably been in Gujarat

The Number Game

When one studies beads and trade of ancient south India, one also wonders at what scale this trade and manufacture was conducted. Through some research and mathematics a staggering figure emerges!

"Three trenches were laid in the bead mound to identify various technological aspects of glass making. Three floor levels were identified in 1.5 m cultural deposit dating between 1^st century AD and 3^rd century AD. There are nearly 2000 glass beads of various sizes and colours collected from 50 sq.m digging area. The 50 sq.m amounts to 0.25 % of the total bead mound. If one exposes the entire mound of 5.5 ha. area, one may encounter with minimum of a million beads. These too are the refuses left by our ancestors as the best ones were being used or sold. "
- http://heritageindiatrust.org/Porunthal.aspx

This is an excerpt from an excavation report of the Porunthal Excavations. This is an astounding figure. If what is being excavated are just the unsold and rejected beads then one can only speculate what the actual quantities manufactured might be.

It is said that the Romans bought 50 Million Sestertius worth of goods each year from India. Roman trade with India was its peak between 50 BC - 150 AD. This is approximately a 200 year period. 50 Million Sestertius in today's value is approximately 500 million euros. This volume would have had a profound impact on Indian trade and society of that time.

Faceted Quartz Bead

This is a quartz bead found in the Tanjore District. This bead was found in the Cauvery River. The bead is 20 mm x 16mm. It is a faceted shape which tapers down to both ends. The perforation is 1.8mm. The bead is polished but shows some crack and damage due to wear and tear by being in the river. This bead can be placed between 800 BCE - 300 AD

Garnet Beads

This is a small group of garnet beads found in Karur, TamilNadu. These beads are all polished but have no specific shape. They are all hand drilled and are between 3 - 9mm. Garnets were one of the most abundant semi precious materials to be found in Tamilnadu. These beads probably date between 1st - 6th Century AD.

An interesting aspect of documenting beads is that most of them are found in riverbeds. These beads shown above were found in a river near Karur. Probably the Noyyal river. As opposed to archaeological excavations, these beads only help us to study the varieties and quantities, Drilling patterns and approximate find spots. Since they were found in a river they could have been washed down from any point up-river of the find spot.

Night Photography at Sirudavoor

These photographs are by the very talented Yuvaraj Vivek. They were long exposure shots of the stone circles in Sirudavoor.

Soapstone (Steatite) Bead

This is a Gooseberry (Tamil: nellikai) shaped bead. This bead was found in the river bed around Tanjore District of Tamil Nadu. The bead is hand made out of Soapstone (Steatite). It is 27 mm in diameter and 15 mm in height.

Decorated Carnelian Beads from Sirudavoor

Decorated Carnelian Beads from Sirudavoor

By Ashvin Rajagopalan

After a brief rain spell over Chennai in mid June 2010, my friends and I decided to explore the Megalithic site at Sirudavoor near Thiruporur. Sirudavoor is a small village located 45 kilometers from Chennai in the Kanchipuram District. The Sirudavoor megalithic site is being destroyed by illegal sand quarrying and property development and is disappearing at an alarming rate. About 100 stone circles and dolmens have been destroyed in the last 12 months alone. The illegal sand miners are removing the stone circles for their granite value and the high quality sand and gravel is being sold as land fill and for agricultural purposes in the nearby towns. The quarrying is taking place right through the contents of every stone circle and hundreds of burials are being desecrated. During the quarrying some of the contents of the burials spill on to the ground. This is why visiting the site after the rains is very important as the spilt contents are washed and visible on the surface. My friends and I have been documenting such finds for the last three months.

Stone circles in the process of being destroyed by illegal sand quarrying

As individuals who are voluntarily researching this site and documenting what is being found, our legal rights at this site are very limited. The Sirudavoor Megalithic site is listed as a protected archaeological site by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This means that no one is allowed to excavate at this site without the direct permission of the Director of Archaeology. The amended Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 2010 states that illegal excavation or destruction of any protected site will lead to a fine of Rs.1,00,000 or a jail term of 2 years or both. Therefore, on our first visit after the rains, when we found a small group of decorated carnelian beads and banded agate beads on the surface, we photographed them and left them where we found them. However, after a lot of deliberation and consultations with retired archaeologists we decided to go back the next day, collect them, and hand them over to the ASI. As expected, when we went back the next day, the entire area where the beads were found was further quarried and the beads are now lost forever.

On a subsequent visit, three more beads were found which have now been handed over to the Superintendent of Archaeology, Chennai Circle, Ms. Sathyabama Badreenath. She has added them to the collection of artifacts with the ASI from the Sirudavoor excavations.

Decorated carnelian beads found on the surface.

The story of these Carnelian beads however is a fascinating one. Several questions arise. Who were the people who used these beads? Who made them? How did they get to Sirudavoor? How old are these beads? What were they used for? What can we learn from them?

The overall study of the Sirudavoor site reveals several interesting facts as to the life and culture of the people who inhabited this area over 2500 years ago. So far only burial sites have been found. There are over 750 stone circles and dolmens in an area of about 5 sq. km. They are divided into two groups on either sides of a lake. Both burials appear to originate around a small hillock and move towards the lake. There is no particular pattern that emerges as to the positioning of the stone circles. Work is currently underway to study the possibility that astronomic signs were used to orient the stone circles. There are preliminary indications that most dolmens have an East-West orientation.

Excavations have revealed some interesting aspects of the people who lived in Sirudavoor. Pottery was highly developed and many types have been documented. The burials use coarse terracotta sarcophaguses. Black Ware, Red Ware, Black & Red Ware & Red Slip Ware have been found in large quantities. A crucial piece of evidence is that so far only graffiti has been found on the pottery. Till date no Brahmi script has been found at the site. This allows for a reasonable conclusion that this site was in existence from around 800 BCE – 300 BCE. This site is extremely similar to megalithic sites in the Kodumanal area in Coimbatore District. Perhaps they were both connected.

This brings to focus the theory that the people of these megalithic sites could be called the Pandukal People (Leshnik 1974, Francis 2002). This theory suggests that the people who were buried in these stone circles shared a common ancestry that originated else where, perhaps outside Tamil Nadu. This is derived from the fact that remains of saddles and horse skeletal remains have been found in sites like Kodumanal & Porunthal. Horses are not indigenous to Tamil Nadu and probably came to South India from Persian traders over the centuries. Iron technology itself has an interesting timeline that shows that iron -age sites existed in the north of India hundreds of years before it came into existence in Tamil Nadu. Perhaps the Pandukal people moved further south in search of newer sources of iron. It is not known whether the Pandukal people integrated themselves with the indigenous populations of Tamil Nadu. Anthropological studies show that the people in the burials in Tamil Nadu may have varied ethnicities (V. Rami Reddy and B.K. Chandrasekhar Reddy, 2004). The most interesting fact (Dikshit, 1949) is that the patterns on the etched carnelian beads are markers of the Pandukal people. The patterns found on the etched carnelian beads in Sirudavoor could probably help trace the established trade and cultural routes in Tamil Nadu.

Different patterns on Etched Carnelian Beads found on the surface at Sirudavoor. 9 – 11 mm

Working backwards, we know that these carnelian beads were finally laid to rest along with the ritualistic remains of human beings in these megalithic burials around 800 BCE – 300 BCE (iron age) in now what is the small village of Sirudavoor. As these beads were not found by means of systematic excavation it is not possible to ascertain their orientation and co-relation to other objects in a burial site. The beads are however usually found next to broken sarcophaguses and there is always a presence of iron fragments next to them as well as black ware and black and red ware shards.

So where did these decorated carnelian beads come from? To begin with, there are no known carnelian deposits anywhere in Tamil Nadu. It is now known that the closest area where this semi precious stone is found is in northern Karnataka. It is also very commonly found in the Narmada valley in Gujarat. There is no evidence of a bead making site at Sirudavoor. The closest known bead making site at that time was Kodumanal. So how did these beads get here from so far away? This story however, goes even further.

The area around Sirudavoor is rich in iron ore deposits. Many megalithic sites in Tamil Nadu, like Kodumanal, are known to have processed iron and made iron implements. As of date no one has found any evidence of a furnace or crucible in the Thiruporur/Sirudavoor area. A probable theory is that the people in this site traded this raw iron ore for finished iron products elsewhere in the country. Due to Sirudavoor’s proximity to the sea, these people could have been salt & fish traders. Therefore, the people in this megalithic site could have taken the mined iron ore, salt & preserved fish inland towards other sites like Kodumanal in the Coimbatore district where sea salt would have been in demand. The Sirudavoor people probably traded their goods for finished iron implements and beads.

This however does not solve the question of where the Carnelian beads came from. Kodumanal was known to be a processing center for Carnelian, Quartz, Garnet and Beryl amongst to most popular and Amethyst, Lapiz & Agate were in lesser quantities. Agate and Lapiz came from Gujarat and Afghanistan respectively. The technique to etch the carnelian beads was not indigenous to this area. The carnelian blanks could have been made in Kodumanal but the etching process was done elsewhere. This meant that rough carnelian traveled from Gujarat to Kodumanal and back as a polished bead to Gujarat where they were then etched and sent back to Kodumanal and other places for trade.

A brief history of decorated carnelian beads The earliest known decorated carnelian beads were dated to be from the Indus Valley & Harrappan excavations (2400 BCE - 1800 BCE). They next appear in megalithic sites around India (800 BCE - 500 AD) and later are found in Persia, Rome and even Russia (100BCE - 600 AD). However the etched carnelian beads found after 500 AD - 1000 AD are said to be mostly of Persian origin where till today the same technique is used.

What does finding Decorated Carnelian Beads in Sirudavoor mean? The Sirudavoor site till date, in excavations, only produced banded agate beads and decorated carnelian beads. This is a very unique indicator. This means that glass beads were yet to be introduced to this population. This allows allowing us to speculate that this site lost its trade contacts after 300 BCE or that it ran out of iron ore by this time and therefore moved on to another site. Sirudavoor is extremely closely located to several other megalithic sites. Arikamedu is 100 Kilometers from this site. Amritamangalam is about 35 Kilometers from this site. There are a few megalithic burials in the Chengalpet district which are about 30 kilometers away from Sirudavoor. Perhaps these people migrated to those sites?

Perhaps then we can theorize that the people from Sirudavoor, traveled to the Kodumanal sites around Coimbatore where they traded their iron ore and sea salt. In exchange they purchased these decorated carnelian beads and finished iron implements which would have been regarded as precious to them. Meanwhile, the people from the Kodumanal areas were taking this iron to trade with the Persians through Gujarat. It is known that since 500 BCE, Tamil Nadu became popular for the manufacture of Wootz (urukku) steel. This steel later came to be known as Damascus steel. This therefore meant that the beads were also moving back and forth between Persia, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

It is amazing to think that the ancient people of Sirudavoor had an active economy with knowledge of trade and far away places. There would have been clearly established trade routes with horses as the chief mode of transport. From the evidence in the burials, Iron implements and Carnelian beads were considered extremely important. Perhaps these beads were considered the equivalent of currency in ancient times before coins were minted.

Micro Etched Carnelian Beads found at Sirudavoor. 2 – 5 mm

Introduction

As an amateur archaeologist & professional jeweller, I have been studying various ancient beads in India. Most of them are found in riverbeds or associated with archaeological excavations conducted around India. I hope to catalog as many ancient beads as possible and trace their trade routes.