Undersea probe to seek out lost' port city

CHENNAI: Encouraged by the zeal witnessed at the recent world classical Tamil conference, the DMK government has decided to fund an undersea expedition to excavate the remains of a 2,000-year-old town, Poompuhar or Kaveripoompattinam, submerged under the sea off the Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu.

"Such a scientific investigation, further supported by literary evidence, will help establish archaeological evidence of ancient Poompuhar," pointed out former state archaeology director R Nagaswamy, who was part of the first team that undertook onshore excavations in the port town in 1981.

"Besides several references in Sangam literature, there is proof of the rich merchants of Manigrama, a suburban village of ancient Poompuhar, travelling by boats, accompanied by sena muka' (soldiers to protect them from pirates), to Takua Pa (now in south Thailand) to trade in gems (mani' in Tamil). A Tamil inscription on stone to this effect is still preserved here," said Nagaswamy.

Full article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City-Chennai/Undersea-probe-to-seek-out-lost-port-city/articleshow/6198752.cms