Pattanam (Kerala): A high school girl volunteering at an archaeological dig site in Pattanam, Kerala, has helped discover priceless ancient Roman artefacts.

For more than a decade, scientists and local residents have been excavating at this sleepy village 25 km north of Kochi in search of Muziris, the 2,000-year-old port on the Malabar Coast. The earth below Pattanam may hold the remains of an important port in the ancient spice trade network with civilisations as far as the Roman Empire.

Pravitha P.A., 17, is a resident of Pattanam and a volunteer on the dig site for PAMA, a consortium that is hunting for Muziris. Last April 25, she was assigned the task of sorting, which is detail-oriented and exhausting work.

Just outside the kitchen of her uncle’s home, a trench was dug. Mounds of soil were removed from the pit. Pravitha and a few other sorters used a sieve to look carefully for any interesting objects. She began sorting at 7 am. She was finding potsherds – pieces of broken pottery – and a lot of tiny beads. Three hours later, she noticed something like a button, but smaller and thicker.

“On the front, it was a grey and white coloured,” said Pravitha. “On the back, it was a shade of brown. When we removed the mud, I could see an image with a head and feet.”

She saw it again later and looked more carefully. It was a figure that was part-animal and part-human, an intricate design that pointed to a Roman-era motif.

What was the artefact, and why was a piece of ancient Rome in her uncle’s backyard? Listen to Episode 1, “The Lost Port of Muziris,” of the Scrolls & Leaves podcast to know more about Pravitha’s discovery and other exciting finds in the search for the ancient port.

Scrolls & Leaves is a world history show that features stories from the margins of science and cultures. Hosts Mary-Rose Abraham and Gayathri Vaidyanathan, and sound designer Nikhil Nagaraj, take listeners on an immersive-sound journey across the Indian Ocean World, and 2,000 years of history.

This 3D-sound podcast sounds like virtual reality for the ears, so do wear your headphones and go on a journey to the ancient Malabar Coast. More information about the podcast can be found at here.



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