Hub of global trade, home to advanced society
Recent archaeological discoveries along the Konkan coast, indicating that the region was a hub of international trade and commerce for centuries as well as home to an advanced society, add yet another glorious chapter to India's grand civilisational history. For long it had been assumed that the medieval civilisation along the Konkan coast under the Shilahara dynasty was fairly simplistic with a basic barter economy. However, those perceptions are now being challenged. Over the past couple of years, several small sites along the Konkan coast, from Gujarat's southern tip down to Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, have been excavated and the many small items such as pieces of pottery, jewellery and art that have surfaced, offer a fresh view of history. For instance, archaeologists believe that the rare ‘micro-beads’ that were found are identical to the ones seen on the east coast of Africa and, thereby, strong evidence of trade links between the continents. Similarly, many pieces of Persian ceramics and coins, glass and beads, supposedly from the ninth to the 12th centuries have also been noticed, pointing to flourishing trading ties with West Asia. Two pieces of pottery, unique to Persia and dating back to the period between 950AD and 1040AD have been found in the small beach town of Chinchani in Maharashtra. It is no surprise that Chinchani, though little known today, is mentioned in the inscriptions on the ancient caves in Nasik. Fragments of Roman pottery, beads and coins have also been found in Chaul, another small town in Maharashtra's Raigad district. Some of these artefacts are from the first century while the most recent ones belong to the seventh century, indicating that Chaul was an important trading port town for centuries. Interestingly, quite a few Jain images as well as a massive Jain temple have also been discovered in the region. This has fascinated archaeologists as Jainism is not known to have been prevalent along the coastal areas. A similar mystery came up in 2011 when a wall-like structure was found under-water along the Konkan coast. About 24km long, 2.7m in height and around 2.5m broad, the ‘wall' extends from Shrivardhan to Raigad, and was supposedly built around 6,000 BC. This has led experts to wonder if the Konkan civilisation may have been as old and advanced as the Indus Valley civilisation.
The recent discoveries along the Konkan coast have naturally fuelled much interest in the region which until now had been largely ignored. Generally, the Archaeological Survey of India has focussed its attention on ancient sites as a result of which the study of medieval civilisations has been limited. In fact, almost all the excavation work along the Konkan coast in recent years is being done by private players — mostly, academic institutions such as the Deccan College. Mumbai University's Centre for Extra-Mural Studies has also participated in these efforts. This is a positive trend that one hopes will be encouraged by the state.