Ancient site · Settlement
Pattanam
Also known as Muziris?
A buried port town near North Paravur in Kerala, excavated by the Kerala Council for Historical Research. It yielded a wharf, a dugout canoe, teak mooring posts and thousands of finds: Roman amphorae and glass, West Asian and Chinese pottery, beads and coins, mostly from about the 3rd century BCE to the 5th century CE.
Its excavators identify it with Muziris, the great pepper port of Roman texts and Tamil poems. Other scholars argue Muziris lay at Kodungallur, where no comparable excavation has been made.
- Dates
- c. 3rd century BCE–5th century CE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 10.16° N, 76.21° E
How we know
The excavated port is real, but whether it is Muziris, the famous Roman pepper port, is debated; some place Muziris at nearby Kodungallur.
Nearby sites
- Kodumanal c. 5th–1st century BCE (dates debated)
- Keezhadi 6th century BCE–3rd century CE (radiocarbon); excavator proposes 8th century BCE; ASI questions this
- Adichanallur c. 1000–600 BCE (radiocarbon); earlier claims debated
- Sivagalai c. 1200–700 BCE (rice from a burial urn); a claim of iron at 3345 BCE is disputed
- Kumari Kandam (legendary) legendary; no real date
- Arikamedu 2nd century BCE–7th/8th century CE