Ganges
The Periplus (§63) refers to a market town on the bank of the Ganges by the same name as the river: ‘Through this place are brought malabathrum and Gangetic spikenard and pearls, and muslins of the finest sorts, which are called Gangetic.’
Ranabir Chakravarti suggests that this could be Chandraketugarh, a major excavated site in West Bengal, located about 125km upstream (north) from the modern delta shoreline and 35km north-east of Kolkata.105 Ancient terracotta seals with representations of ships suggest it was a riverine port.
The site dates to the Maurya period (200–300 BCE) and it appears to have been continuously occupied until medieval times. Direct evidence for a Roman connection is lacking, but the site appears to have been known to the author of the Periplus and spices appear to have been obtained from there indirectly. Chakravarti suggested that commodities may have been carried along the coast to Tamil Nadu and then westwards overland to the Malabar coast via Karur (modern Coimbatore) and then the Palghat Gap. Alternatively, the cargo could have been transported along the coast. The widespread occurrence of (second century BCE to second century CE) Rouletted Ware from sites along the eastern seaboard suggests a well-developed coastal network. The Periplus (§60) confirms the plying of large indigenous ships along the east coast: ‘those which make the voyage to Chryse and to the Ganges are called colandia, and are very large.’ Significance of the East Coast PortsPepper and other spices appear to have been available for trade from the east coast ports – but trade with whom? It would make no sense for Roman ships to make the considerable additional journey eastwards from the Malabar coast in order to buy pepper, despite the evidence of the Roman presence at Arikamedu, Alagankulam, etc. So this trade in spices must surely have been with the East. Cai-Zhen Hong noted that in the Qin and Han dynasties several spices were introduced to China from South China, South Asia and Europe.106 Epilogue
Many of the Indian west coast ports, and especially those immersed in trade with the Romans, declined after the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century CE. In fact, the decline in trade was more gradual and was notable from 250 CE, probably reflecting reduced Roman demand for Indian goods. The huge markets collapsed, leading to economic disaster for the exporters. But life goes on and people adapted to the new circumstances. The east coast of India in particular was relatively unaffected by the fall of Rome and the long-established trade networks continued to operate.
However, although the western Roman Empire fell, finally, in 476 CE, the empire in the east, Byzantium, was to last another thousand years.