2. An ancient port: Poompuhar

History of Poompuhar:

 

 

Architecture of Poompuhar was  different from other ancient towns. They had a separate settlement for each social group. The streets of Poompuhar were lengthy and broad, and the houses were well-designed. There was also a dockyard.

 

Pattinappaalai and Puhar Kandam of Silapathikaram are the great Tamil epics, which throws light on the life of the people of Poompuhar.

 

Poompuhar was the hub of merchants who came here from Greece and Rome. Merchants from foreign countries stayed here for a long period due to a busy and continuous trade. Evidence for the existence of foreign trade was excavated from Poompuhar.

Poompuhar had people speaking different languages to practice uniform trade. As the invasion of foreign traders started increasing, this paved the way for them to learn a foreign language.

The Merchants of Poompuhar were well known for their honesty. They sold goods at very fair prices. Kadiyalur Uruttirangannanar's Pattinappaalai, one of the Tamil epics, says that “selling commodities at higher prices was considered immoral”.

 

Indian Remote Sensing Satellites discovered that the city was established initially in the Cauvery Delta. A harbour-like structure, sea walls and a bridge-like structure were also a part of their discovery from this region.

The study also provided keen knowledge about the social, cultural as well as technologicalevolution of Poompuhar. Also revealed the age of Poompuhar from \(3000\) years to\(20,000\ \)years.

Despite several studies on Tamil literature, Archaeology, underwater exploration and Geosciences, the exact location of initial establishment of Poompuhar, its later shifts, the reasons and periods of its extinction remain unresolved.