Seafaring in Ancient Sri Lanka The untold story of long-distance trade in the Indian Ocean more than 2,000 years ago by Andrew Lawler Deep beneath the sea off the ne bright December morning in 2003, fishermen B.G. Preminda southern coast and R.P. Sunil were diving for conchs and lobsters in about 100 feet of Sri Lanka, of water some two miles off the southern coast of the island nation a diver exam- of Sri Lanka, near the small port town of Godavaya. Instead of ines a pottery vessel from the shellfish, however, they spotted the rim of a giant ceramic jar pok- oldest known ing out of the sandy seabed. They headed for the surface and noted shipwreck in the the location on their GPS device. A week later, the divers returned for another look Indian Ocean. Oand this time discovered a small, bench-shaped stone carved with the image of a fish. Preminda and Sunil, who have been diving together since the pottery that had been brought up, they confirmed that the watery highway down, and only with the arrival of Europeans Much like later Christian medieval monasteries in Europe, they were boys, decided to tell German archaeologist Oliver shipwreck the fishermen had stumbled on was indeed the old- to the island and neighboring coasts in the sixteenth century these Buddhist complexes were important economic centers Kessler about the find. Kessler was excavating Godavaya’s est yet discovered in the Indian Ocean. According to Osmund did it fade in importance. Despite this rich history, little is in the early centuries a.d. “Buddhism looked favorably upon ancient Buddhist monastery on a high promontory overlook- Bopearachchi, a Sri Lankan–born French historian who has known about the dawn of Indian Ocean trade. trade activities,” says Bopearachchi. Thousands of Roman and ing the Indian Ocean, and he paid them a small sum to bring helped organize the excavations, the find is revolutionizing Godavaya’s small harbor is located at the mouth of the Indian coins have surfaced among several monastic sites, villages, up the stone, asking them not to disturb anything else on the our understanding of ancient maritime trade in South Asia. Walawe River, one of Sri Lanka’s few navigable waterways. Trad- and rice paddies along the Walawe. “The earliest donors and bottom. Soon after, the artifact was consigned to a storage ers brought raw materials and manufactured goods from the important patrons of Buddhist establishments of South Asia,” facility. The German team was busy with their dig, and Sri he Godavaya wreck lies on Sri Lanka’s curving large settlements upriver to the harbor for transport across the he adds, “were caravan merchants and wealthy seafaring trad- Lankan maritime archaeologists had their hands full excavating southern shore. Ancient voyagers typically avoided the Indian Ocean beginning at least 2,000 years ago, says Senarath ers.” An ancient scroll from Afghanistan says that the Buddha a shipwreck in the harbor of the nearby city of Galle. Ttreacherous shallow waters separating Sri Lanka from Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s director general of archaeology. Hints himself was a merchant who sailed the ocean in a previous life. The two fishermen, however, kept an eye on the site. For- India to the north, so coast-hugging ships moving between the of this, confirming Godavaya’s status as a significant port, were Archaeological teams working deeper in the interior in the tunately, the devastating 2004 tsunami left it undisturbed. eastern and western halves of the Indian Ocean sailed past this revealed when the German team that began work at the Gota past decade have found that the island may also have been Finally, in 2008, the work in Galle complete, Sri Lankan strategic spot. The teardrop-shaped island has long been the Pabbata Rajamaha Vihara monastery in Godavaya two decades an industrial powerhouse. Greek and Roman texts mention researchers briefly examined the Godavaya wreck with Pre- pivot between these halves, and its names in multiple languages ago found the first clear proof of the port’s international role. iron and steel exports from the Indian subcontinent, and minda and Sunil’s help. They brought up pottery that appeared throughout history hint at its prominent role in ancient trade A second-century a.d. rock inscription carved in the ancient India’s iron production industry began as early as 1500 b.c. to be several thousand years old, suggesting that the ship might networks. Our word “serendipity” comes from the Arabic word script of Brahmi, which was used in India beginning in about At least some of that metal, however, may have originated be far older than any previously found Indian Ocean wreck. for the island, Serendib. Called Lanka-dipa by Indians, Tapro- the fifth centuryb .c., states that the port’s custom duties col- in Sri Lanka, and then been sent to India for wider distribu- Seeking international collaboration for such an ancient, bane by Greeks, Ceylon by Europeans, and Pa-Outchow—“isle lected in the name of the king were donated to the monastery tion. Hundreds of massive slag heaps left over from iron and

The ancient shrine in the small port of Godavaya (above) of gems”—by the Chinese, Sri Lanka coalesced into a kingdom Underwater archaeologists (above) examine a mass of fused steel production facilities dating as far back as the last few overlooks the site of the shipwreck and is still a sacred spot in the sixth century b.c. “Sri Lanka” itself means “resplendent material, mostly the remains of iron bars that once made up centuries b.c. dot the island’s highlands. One heap alone for local Buddhists. B.G. Preminda (above, right), one of the the bulk of the Godavaya ship’s ancient cargo. By removing 150 12 two fishermen who first discovered the wreck and who is now island” in Sanskrit. Archaeologists have found cinnamon in ceramic vessels for further study (above, right), the team was extends more than feet in length and is feet high, and a part of the excavation team, suits up for his dive. distant Egyptian tombs and in Phoenician flasks that may have able to confirm that the ship dated to sometime between the is evidence that thousands of tons of iron were produced at had its origin on the island’s lush plantations. second and first centuries b.c. the site between 400 and 200 b.c. In the third century b.c., the islanders embraced Buddhism fragile, and potentially important site, the Sri Lankans turned when the new faith arrived from India, but they resisted ituated on an isolated reef, the Godavaya wrecks lies to Deborah Carlson, president of the Institute of Nautical repeated attempts by Indian rulers to dominate their rich trop- for its upkeep. Along with several ancient statues of Buddha, the scattered over an area roughly half the size of a football Archaeology (INA) at Texas A&M University, an organization ical land. Documents from both Rome and China record that excavators found the remains of a customs office. In this room Sfield. Most of the hull likely disintegrated long ago, but at with long experience excavating ancient Mediterranean ships. Sri Lankan kings sent ambassadors to these faraway courts in they discovered clay seals carved with a lion that had been used the center of the site is a massive, 60-foot-long jumble of fused Carlson has a strong interest in exploring sunken vessels in the first centuryb .c. This era marked the beginning of vibrant to stamp merchandise to certify that merchants had paid their material surrounded by a scatter of broken pots, glass, and stone the vast Indian Ocean since, in classical times, it linked the and widespread Indian Ocean trade that reached a peak in import duties to the government. The German team also found artifacts. The mass is made up mostly of minerals, a sample of Mediterranean with China. Unlike the overland Silk Road that medieval times when African, Arabian, Indian, Indonesian, and Roman coins from the early centuries a.d., further attesting to which was taken back to Texas A&M for analysis. Test results crossed the steppes and deserts far to the north, this maritime Chinese sailors used the seasonal monsoon winds to transform foreign trade. On the beach below, the excavators unearthed confirmed the presence of iron and copper, suggesting that the highway has until now been largely invisible in the archaeologi- this sea into a corridor for spices, cotton, rice, gold, precious stone pillars, some more than 10 feet long, that were once part mass is partially composed of the remnants of iron that rusted cal record and is glimpsed only rarely in historical documents. stones, and slaves. These were the seas sailed by the mythical of a pier or landing jetty. Nearby they identified the ancient away, leaving behind minerals that preserve the outline of what When the team radiocarbon dated bits of wood to between Sinbad. Unlike the northern land route across Central Asia, stone quarry that likely was the source of the jetty material. A clearly was the principal cargo. “They look like ingots or bars the second century b.c. and first century a.d., and analyzed neither Chinese emperors nor brigands could ever shut this triangular stone anchor was also found just offshore. of stacked iron,” says Laura White, the divemaster for the

44 ARCHAEOLOGY • November/December 2014 www.archaeology.org 45 2014 season cosponsored by Dissanayake’s department One of the unusual objects found on the wreck was a large metal and INA. The mass also includes bits of wood and ring that may have been part of the other objects that were carbon dated to about ship’s rigging hardware. the second century b.c., matching the dating of the ship’s pottery. Given the size of its cargo, the ship may have exceeded 75 feet regions and eras used differ- in length—a respectable size for medieval ent materials and methods. Two trading ships in the region. Almost noth- dark-green ingots first recovered ing is known about shipbuilding in this from the Godavaya wreck in 2008 early period, however, so archaeologists were manufactured in South India, according are eager to learn as much as they can to preliminary analysis done by British and about the ship’s design. French researchers. Many scholars have long maintained No one knows whether the ship was that the rise of the Roman Empire in the first century a.d. leaving Godavaya or sailing toward it when it sank in an area and its appetite for exotic goods from the East ignited the known today for its treacherous currents and sudden storms, trading network that flourished for a millennium and a half. though there is some suggestion that it slipped beneath the But the presence of both domestic and foreign goods on a waves while moving east, away from the port. Nonetheless, single ship suggests that a complex trading system was in place the wreck’s cargo provides compelling evidence that hefty even before Roman, Greek, and Egyptian merchants began to amounts of metals were mined, smelted, and fashioned into frequent the coasts of the subcontinent. bars in the highlands, shipped down the Walawe, and care- fully stacked by stevedores in the hold of the seagoing ship he dig house that is home to a dozen Sri Lankan, Team leader Osmund Bopearachchi (above, left) examines one of the wreck’s several bench-shaped stones that, in antiquity, for its journey to a distant port. The vessel carried more than Turkish, and American archaeologists is just down a were produced for both grain preparation and ritual use. A colorful rented fishing vessel called The Sea Horse (above, right) serves as the dive team’s home base while they explore the wreck site. locally produced goods, however. Several glass ingots brought Tsandy lane from the Godavaya monastery, which today up by the divers suggest that some of the cargo may have is a popular local shrine overlooking beached fishing boats, originated in India. and which provided a lifesaving refuge for villagers, including from the wreck site continues, a dozen divers are also engaged symbolize the Hindu gods Shiva or Vishnu, though these signs Indian artisans excelled at producing large quantities of Preminda and Sunil, during the deadly 2004 tsunami. Today, the in mapping the main artifact scatter to the east of the large can also appear in Buddhist contexts in this period. At least raw glass in the last centuries b.c. They poured the hot liquid excavation team has gathered to work outside in the tropical mineral mass before bringing up more portable objects. four more stone benches remain on the bottom, waiting to be glass into ceramic bowls, and, once the glass cooled, the bowls air. On the porch, White adds a mix of sea- and freshwater to a When the weather is fair as it is today, their work begins at brought to the surface. were removed like the rind of an orange. The glass ingots could tub containing a foot-long spearpoint recovered the day before. sunrise on the modern concrete dock of a new international Later that morning, Sri Lankan diver Sanath Karunarathne then be stacked in a ship’s hold and transported abroad, where “This is the first time that we’ve discovered a bronze spearpoint container port under construction a couple of miles east of brings up a small round piece of dark-blue glass with a hole in local artisans could melt them down in order to make beads of this size in Sri Lanka,” says Dissanayake. Though the artifact Godavaya. The artificial harbor, dug by a Chinese company, the middle. It is another singular discovery. The object may and bangles still popular across South Asia. Beads made with has yet to be analyzed, one scholar believes it resembles certain aims to take advantage of the location along what is still one have been a loom weight—or it might even have been the Indian glass in the medieval period have been traced as far Chinese points from the same era. Pirates have long plagued of the world’s busiest sea lanes. The team loads equipment ship’s oculus, as vessels in this region often have eyes painted or afield as Japan and Europe. these waters, and crew members or mercenaries may have and then boards a rented fishing vessel called The Sea Horse, attached to their bows. “These isolated finds raise more ques- Thanks to new techniques, scientists can now use nonde- traveled with arms to protect their valuable cargo. “Pikes like colorfully painted and with a distinct list, for the short ride tions than answers,” says Willis. Whether those questions can structive methods to analyze the chemical composition of glass this were common in ships into the nineteenth century,” notes past massive barges and cargo ships to the wreck site offshore be answered is unclear. The 2014 season was cut short because in order to pinpoint where it was manufactured, since different Orkan Köyağasıoğlu, the team’s field director. marked only with a buoy. of bad weather and bureaucratic snags, and raising the fragile At the outdoor courtyard table used for both One at a time, four divers descend a makeshift iron ladder remains of the iron cargo poses huge technical challenges. dining and recording data, archaeology director fashioned by a local welder and enter the water. When diving Meanwhile, some Sri Lankan government officials have been Staci Willis puzzles over a thick round metal ring at such depths, divers are permitted only two 30-minute dives publicly critical of an effort involving so many foreigners, while with a large flange that makes it look like a giant’s per day. Archaeologists plan out their specific tasks in detail the Carlson frets about future funding. engagement ring. It might be a part of the ship’s night before. Each diver is responsible for a grid square marked Nonetheless, just knowing what questions to ask is sig- rigging—an exciting discovery given how little is with string where they use their hands to fan away sediment nificant for archaeologists who, until recently, had little known of ancient shipbuilding techniques in the to expose artifacts rather than using brushes or trowels that physical evidence of Sri Lanka’s—and indeed the entire Indian region. “It doesn’t have any antecedent in rigging might damage objects. At this depth, White says, “you are in Ocean’s—ancient seafaring and mercantile past. Now, thanks that we know of, and it could be a deck fitting,” an altered state. Every 30 feet you go below the surface is like to the chain of discoveries in the central highlands, at settle- says White, “although we have no evidence for drinking a martini.” ments along the river, at the port and monastery, and, perhaps metal deck fittings in antiquity.” It’s also possible When Sri Lankan archaeologist Palitha Weerasinghe most importantly, at the wreck site just offshore, scholars are that it could be the handle for a heavy shield. returns to the surface, he is holding a foot-long cylindrical beginning to create a picture of an economic boom that ulti- While work cleaning and analyzing the finds stone. The object, smooth and shiny in the hot sun, may have mately rippled across the ocean all the way to Rome in one been used to grind grain on the surface of one of the bench- direction and China in the other. Led by Buddhist merchants, A huge bronze spear point (far left) suggests shaped stones. It may also have served a ritual purpose as a miners, and monks, this network eventually became one of the that the ship’s crew were armed with pikes to temple offering, or could have been both a utilitarian and world’s most important webs of commerce before evidence of protect the valuable cargo from pirates. Team sacred object. Although the stone is undecorated, one of the it was swallowed by time. n member Staci Willis (left) examines a stone cyl- two bench-shaped stones they have previously excavated inder that may have been used to grind grain. includes the footprint of the bull Nandi. The footprint can Andrew Lawler is a contributing editor at Archaeology.

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