Muziris: The Ancient Port City of Kerala that Connected the World

Among the ports that lined the eastern and western coasts of ancient Tamilakam — of which present-day Kerala was a part — Muziris occupies the most important chapter in the region's history. Muziris was a major trading centre that connected Kerala with various regions of the ancient world. For centuries this port stood at the very heart of Indian Ocean trade, deeply shaping the economic, social, and cultural history of Malanad (Kerala).

Historians believe that Muziris was located in the area adjoining the estuary of the river Periyar. It was in the village of Pattanam, west of North Paravur, that archaeologists Dr. K.P. Shajan and Dr. V. Selvakumar first identified the presence of foreign-made pottery sherds during a surface survey. Following this, excavations led by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) recovered a large number of rare artefacts. The deep excavation revealed, layer by layer, strong evidence of the various foreign lands with which this region maintained contact across different periods. These findings made it possible to establish that Pattanam was part of the very port of Muziris mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman texts.

From centuries before the Common Era, Muziris was already a major hub of international trade. It maintained active trade relations with Greece, the Roman Empire, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Africa, and other parts of India. The fame of Muziris spread across the ancient world. References to Muziris can be found in the works of the Greco-Roman writers Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Claudius Ptolemy. The first-century mariners' handbook, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, also records Muziris as a major port.

In describing the ports along India's western coast, the anonymously authored Periplus of the Erythraean Sea lists the southern ports in order as Tyndis, Muziris, Bakare, Nelcynda, and Balita. It states the distance from Tyndis to Muziris as 500 stadia, and from Muziris to Bakare as another 500 stadia. The stadion was a unit of measurement used by ancient sailors to gauge distance. The exact location of Tyndis has not been conclusively established. If the distance of 500 stadia is accurate, Tyndis should have been located near present-day Tanur, 92 km north of the Munambam estuary, close to where the southern branch of the Kadalundi river once met the Arabian Sea. It is likely that later changes in the river mouth reduced this port's significance, after which the slightly more northern port of Pantalayini Kollam gained prominence.

Exactly 92 km (500 stadia) south of Muziris lay Bakare — also known as Barake — identified with present-day Purakkad. Even after the Alappuzha port was established in AD 1760, ships continued to anchor at Purakkad. Purakkad is regarded as the longest continuously used port in the history of South Indian harbours located in Kerala. Evidence from these ancient texts themselves indicates that the sea once extended further inland all the way from Muziris to Bakare. The places Odopeura, Semne, and Koraiyur, mentioned as lying between these two great ports, are all located at river mouths on the mainland east of the Vembanad backwaters — confirming that the present-day Karappuram region (Cherthala taluk) had not yet formed at that time.

Bakare must have been at the promontory where the bay and the Arabian Sea met. It may have been called Purakkad ("outer forest/island") because it was an isolated wooded islet lying outside the mainland. Although colonial-era references call it "Porcad," the word underlying "Bakare" may actually be vaykkarai, meaning, in ancient Tamil, "land formed by the sea" — that is, land created by sedimentation. Purakkad had excellent facilities for large ships to anchor.

Travelling 120 stadia inland from Bakare along the river Baris would bring one to the inland port of Nelcynda. This port lay between Valanjavattam and Nakitha, where the rivers Manimala and Pamba flow into the backwaters. From Nakitha to Purakkad there was a deep-water shipping channel through the backwaters — it is this channel that Pliny referred to as the Baris. The observation that better-quality pepper was available at Bakare than at the port of Muziris suggests that pepper grown in the midland river valleys of the Meenachil–Manimala–Pamba basin, which fed into Bakare, held a superior reputation.

References in Sangam-era Tamil literature about Kerala's pepper trade likewise make clear the prominence of pepper among the goods exported from all these ports. Near the port of Balita — identified with present-day Vizhinjam, referred to in these texts as Vilinjam — a coin from the era of Egypt's Ramesses II was discovered, and peppercorns were found inside the nostrils of his mummified body, both of which underline the global importance of pepper.

Another interesting fact is that around 7.5 kilograms of peppercorns discovered at Berenike, a Roman port in Egypt, is considered evidence of trade connecting Rome with the Malabar coast. Taken together with the pepper remains found at Pattanam, the discoveries at Berenike lend strong scientific support to the existence of the ancient Muziris–Roman pepper trade. Pepper was carried overland from Berenike, on the Red Sea coast, to the Mediterranean port of Alexandria.

Direct evidence of the pepper trade at Muziris appears in poem 149 of the Tamil Sangam work Akananuru, which reads (in the original Tamil):

சேரலர் சுள்ளியம் பேரியாற்று வெண்ணுரை கலங்க, யவனர் தந்த வினைமாண் நன்கலம், பொன்னொடு வந்து கறியொடு பெயரும் வளங்கெழு முசிறி.

A rough Malayalam (and here, English) rendering of this is:

"In prosperous Muchiri of the Chera land, where the white foam of the great river Periyar is stirred, the finely crafted ships of the Yavanas [Greeks] arrive laden with gold and depart laden with pepper."

It is clear that the Greek name "Muziris" derives from the word "Muchiri." The continued use of the name Muyirikkodu for Kodungallur in later times reflects the enduring significance of this word. Because nature gave the estuary of Muziris a tendency to change shape periodically, it also bore the alternate name Pseudostomos ("false mouth"). Since the river Periyar shifted its course, the port may have been described as having a "changing mouth" (kadapavai). Another theory holds that because there was an islet jutting into the sea in the middle, giving the river's mouth what appeared to be three "lips" (chundu in Tamil), it came to be called Muchiri. Still others point to a reference to Murachipattanam in the Valmiki Ramayana, suggesting that "Muchiri" derives from murachi (pepper) + pattanam (town).

An intriguing detail comes from the Tabula Peutingeriana, a map that indicates the presence, at Muziris, of a temple of the first-century Roman emperor Augustus Caesar (Octavian) — the Templum Augusti. This map, which marks Muziris, is a medieval copy of a fourth-century Roman original. Next to the name "Muziris" it bears a special symbol along with the annotation "Templ(um) Augusti." Since this Roman place of worship is shown on the southern bank of the Periyar, and since excavation evidence confirms that the Roman merchants' settlement was indeed at Pattanam on the southern bank, these two pieces of evidence can reasonably be read together.

Scientific investigations at Pattanam have confirmed that human habitation on the western bank of the Periyar basin began around a thousand years before the Common Era. These studies present the remarkable finding that a flourishing port-based mercantile culture existed here in parallel with the Iron Age megalithic culture of Kerala. Evidence shows that this region was at the height of its trading activity from the first century BCE to the fifth century CE. Excavations have unearthed thousands of artefacts, including coins, iron tools, metal objects, glass beads, stone beads, remains related to jewellery-making, and various kinds of pottery. These finds make it clear that Muziris was a major trading centre with a developed urban culture.

Among the most significant excavation finds are the foreign pottery sherds recovered at Muziris. Thousands of fragments of amphorae associated with the Roman world have been found here. These vessels were used to store and transport wine, olive oil, and fish sauce by sea. Studies show that some of these amphorae originated from the Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes, from Campania in southern Italy, and from the region of present-day Turkey and Syria. Fragments of vessels from Spain, France, and Egypt have also been recovered at Pattanam, making clear that Muziris maintained direct contact with the Mediterranean region.

Fragments of Italian-made terra sigillata — a distinctive red pottery — have also been found here. These highly polished vessels were used by the wealthy and those of high social standing, suggesting that affluent individuals resided at Muziris. It is possible that such luxury goods reached this site because of its royal importance as the principal port of the Chera kings.

The influence of the Greek world is also clearly visible at Muziris. The presence of pottery made on Greek islands is evidence that Greek traders and ships reached the Kerala coast. Numerous objects testifying to contact with Mesopotamia and West Asia have also been recovered at Pattanam. The green-and-blue "turquoise glazed pottery" found here is believed to have been manufactured in Mesopotamia or Iran, representing a technology that had been in use across West Asia for centuries. "Torpedo jars" from West Asia have also been found at Pattanam. These storage vessels, coated with bitumen, were used for long sea voyages. Although it remains unclear what exactly they carried, they are regarded as important evidence of the relationship between Muziris and Mesopotamia.

Pattanam also demonstrates connections with various parts of the Indian subcontinent. A large collection of the distinctive Indian pottery known as "Rouletted Ware" has been found here, indicating that Muziris had strong trade ties with eastern India and with other regions of South India.

Thousands of unidentified foreign pottery fragments recovered at Pattanam remain under study. It is hoped that these will, in the future, provide further insight into the trading relationships of Muziris.

At the same time, the excavation yielded far larger quantities of locally made pottery than of foreign wares. Indian-made pottery may have been used to export pepper and other goods, or such pottery itself may have been in demand abroad. One of the most notable discoveries at Pattanam is the remains of a wharf associated with the port — a facility for loading and unloading goods, where large brick structures and storage facilities were unearthed. Near this wharf, the keel of an ancient boat made of jackfruit wood was also found. It is regarded as one of the oldest water-transport artefacts discovered in Kerala, and stands as strong evidence of ancient Kerala's maritime tradition.

Wooden posts and building remains found near the wharf indicate that port operations here were conducted in an organised manner. Numerous plant remains, preserved underground, have also been recovered — including remnants of pepper, cardamom, rice, wheat, pulses, coconut, areca nut, mango stones, and Indian gooseberry (nellikka).

Evidence of industries such as jewellery-making, metalworking, bead-making, and pottery production has also been found at Pattanam. A pottery fragment inscribed with Brahmi script, indications linked to Jainism, and evidence suggesting the presence of Buddhist traders all point to the multicultural character of Muziris. Archaeological evidence suggests that this was an open society where different religions and cultures coexisted. Before the discovery of Pattanam, physical evidence of Kerala's ancient maritime trade was very scarce — but these excavations have transformed our understanding of Kerala's history.

Muziris was thus one of the major trading centres of the ancient world, linking together the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The decline of the Roman Empire around the fifth century affected the world order as a whole, and this may have had a broadly negative impact on maritime trade. In addition, recurring natural disturbances may have caused the port to lose its facilities. None of the later primary sources contain any references to a port called Muziris — yet the place name Muyirikkodu survived. There is no evidence that Muziris held any commercial importance after the fifth century. However, with the beginning of the Perumal rule at Kodungallur under the name Mahodayapuram in the early ninth century, the Kulasekhara dynasty established their capital there as the seat of overlordship over the eighteen nadus (territories) of Kerala. In later times, Arabs, Chinese, and Jews settled at Kodungallur as trading communities, while the Nasrani (Syrian Christian) merchants of the Manigramam guild were also active in the inland markets. With the settlement of Knanaya Christians at Kottappuram, a major commercial centre rose on the northern bank of the Periyar. In 1528, when the Zamorin's Yemeni allies attacked Kodungallur during his assault on Kochi and set fire to this trading centre, the Jews and Knanaya Christians fled Kodungallur to save their lives. The Jews subsequently established trading centres at Chendamangalam, Mala, and Paravur. The Portuguese later built a fort on the site of the destroyed Kodungallur market. It was only in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, when Shakthan Thampuran, the ruler of Kochi, established the Kottappuram market, that some of the lost commercial glory was partially regained. The Kottappuram market, known for its rice trade, and the North Paravur market, known for cash crops, have survived through time and stand today as living testimony to the commercial history of Muziris.