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Odelli et al. Herit Sci (2020) 8:56 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-020-00402-2 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Pottery production and trades in Tamil Nadu region: new insights from Alagankulam and Keeladi excavation sites E. Odelli1,2, T. Selvaraj3, J. Perumal3, V. Palleschi4, S. Legnaioli4 and S. Raneri4,5* Abstract This research is part of a wider scientifc Italian-Indo project fnalised to shed lights on pottery fabrication and trade circulation in Tamil Nadu region during Early Historical Period. The recent archaeological excavations carried out in Alagankulam—a famous harbour trading with the eastern and western world—and in Keeladi—the most ancient civilization centre attested in Tamil Nadu region—provided numerous fragments of archaeological ceramics. The typological analysis enabled the identifcation of diferent pottery classes, suggesting the presence of local produc- tions, possible imports and imitations. Studied shards included common Indian vessels, fne wares and luxury ware repertoire. The provenance identifcation of some of the studied typologies is still debated in the literature; for long time, the misattribution of several ceramic classes has led to wrong interpretations on the commercial connections between India and the Western and Eastern Mediterranean area. The minero-petrographic and spectroscopic inves- tigation of several ceramic fragments from the two investigated archaeological sites enabled the systematic com- positional characterization of specifc ceramic classes both locally manufactured and imported. The obtained results contributed to draw short-range and long-range connections in Tamil Nadu area. Keywords: Tamil Nadu, Alagankulam, Keeladi, BPNW, Rouletted ware, Black and red ware Introduction scientifc methods able to examine the material nature Potteries represent one of the most useful archaeologi- of ceramic materials and answer to archaeological and cal artifacts in reconstructing human activity in the past. anthropological research questions [4, 5]. Being part of daily use, potteries can support the inter- Provenance studies can contribute to the reconstruc- pretation of dynamics related to trade, manufacture rou- tion of trade routes in ancient areas; this is particularly tines, cultural identity and artistic traditions. relevant in studying harbour cities, where commercial Te analysis of ceramic fabric, the characterization of contacts and social activities promoted the commerciali- clay composition and of the decorations (if present) can zation of goods and cultural exchanges [6]. be used to locate production centers, indicate manu- An interesting example in the light of the archaeologi- facture routines, interpret the progress of technology cal and historical researches in Tamil Nadu region (India) and the modes of consumption of a site [1–3]. Petro- is the Alagankulam harbour; it was one of the main graphic observations, mineralogical analysis and spectro- entrepôt of South-India in antiquity. Recent archaeologi- scopic investigations are only few among the numerous cal excavations carried out in Tamil Nadu region enabled to explore new structures and archaeological records in this famous city; moreover, the frst settlement of the *Correspondence: [email protected] ancient civilization in Tamil Nadu-the Keeladi village- 4 National Research Council, ICCOM-CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy was discovered and explored in the proximity of the Vai- Full list of author information is available at the end of the article gai River. © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creat​iveco​ mmons​.org/licen​ses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creat​iveco​mmons​.org/publi​cdoma​in/ zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Odelli et al. Herit Sci (2020) 8:56 Page 2 of 13 Te two archaeological sites were rather close to each black) [21] and their wide distribution in Sri Lanka and other and built in the proximity of the same river; how- eastern India, in the far East (e.g., in Indonesia), in Egypt, ever, their economic and socio-cultural organization and in Bernike harbour. Fine Grey Potteries include, were diferent. Alagankulam was a very active trade cen- among other types, rouletted ware (RW) and red pol- tre where local products credibly co-existed with long- ished ware (RPW). Rouletted ware (RW) is characterized range imported goods; in fact, several pottery fragments by an hard-glossy surface and a compact clay paste; it is were found in the site during the new excavation cam- easily identifed by a distinct decoration pattern, due to paign, including transport vessels, jars, common ware bands of indentions with diferent shapes, such as lines, (e.g. black-and-red ware), and fne table ware (e.g., rou- dots, diamonds and triangles, made by using a roulette letted ware, black ware, Fine Grey potteries, Northern [15]. Recent studies on rouletted ware found in Sri Lanka, black polished ware). On the contrary, in Keeladi only Vietnam, India and reference clays from Chandraketu- few shapes were found; they mainly consist of domes- garh suggested the Ganges Valley as probable production tic vessels, common wares (e.g., black-and-red ware and centre [16, 17, 20]; in fact, its Indian provenance is cur- coarse red ware) and of red slipped wares. rently accepted. Rouletted ware can be considered as an Te diferent ceramic classes found in the two sites can indicator of the intense Indian trades within the Indian be used to defne their context and chronology. Black- Ocean and the Mediterranean regions. Rouletted ware and-red ware (BRW) represents a class of artefacts gen- seems to be dated between II B.C. and I A.D., before the erally attributed to the ancient Indian tradition (since appearance of Roman sigillata in India [13, 21]. According the beginning of the I millennium B.C.); the name is to the Tissamaharama pottery sequence and the recent related to its appearance, which is red and back in col- periodization proposed by Schenk [13], it circulated for our. According to the literature, black-and-red ware was a limited time-interval (in Tissamaharama the frst frag- produced by positioning upside down the vessels in the ment is dated II B.C.), specifcally till the I B.C. Its circu- kiln with vegetal materials inside; the outside part, was lation promoted the production of later local imitations subjected to oxidizing condition and turned in red, while difering from the genuine ones for their coarse-grain the inner surface and the rims, under reducing condi- clay paste. Red polished ware (RPW) includes typical tions, turned in black [7]. Tis class of vessels is largely shapes consisting in ritual vessels (i.e., spouted jugs and attested in several site through India and it is character- sprinklers) and is characterized by a fne quality red slip. ised by a variability in fabric and manufacture technology It was for long time misinterpreted as Roman import in respect to the production area [8]. Black ware (BW) due to the similarities with the well-known terra sigil- is a class of vessels largely attested in India from the frst lata. However, recent researches and discoveries along half of the I millennium and had a lost-lasting tradition the Persian Gulf enabled its attribution to Indian produc- [9]; similarly to black-and-red ware, black ware is attested tion, making it possible to consider red polished ware as with various fabrics, according to the local raw materials an indicator of connections within the Indian Ocean at used for its production. the Periplus-time [13]. Among the Indian fndings, sigil- Northern Polished Black Ware (NPBW) represents a lata ware is the most debated ceramic class; its occur- class of vessels largely found through India; it is consid- rence and identifcation are largely questioned since the ered part of the luxury ware repertoire. Its production Wheeler discoveries at Arikamedu [14], and the Begley’s spread just after the so called Gray Painted Ware culture reconsiderations [15]. To date, the attribution of sigillata and it is traditionally located in the area of the Ganga ware has to be evaluated with caution; in fact, several Plains [10]. Regarding the periodization, a recent archae- sigillata productions attested in diferent periods were ological and stratigraphic revision dated the NPBW traded to India, such as the Italian sigillata, the Eastern production between the VII B.C. and the I B.C. [10, 11]. Sigillata A (from Syria) and the Eastern Sigillata B (from NPBW is characterized by a lustrous black slip glossy Western Asia Minor). Tus, the attribution of sigillata surface; this was obtained in the Indian tradition by the ware needs a careful examination of the archaeological application of a refned clay slip and an organic liquid on context and the dating of pottery sequence. the vessel, thus fred under reducing kiln conditions [11, Te Indian Ocean thus represented one of the 12]. most active hubs of ancient trade [22]. Several stud- Fine Grey Potteries represent a class of very fne ies described the extent of numerous commercial and and luxurious sherds largely attested in India and only social exchanges in several harbours and entrepôt along recently recognized as imports from the Northern Indian the Indian Ocean costs [23–29].

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