| Peer-Reviewed

Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman Maritime Trade Relations (According to Literary Sources & Archaeological Evidence)

Received: 26 May 2021    Accepted: 10 June 2021    Published: 23 November 2021
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Sri Lanka had maritime trade relations even in the 6th century BC and we had famous naval ports used for maritime trade specially for maritime ‘Silk Road’ used by people who was in Greco-Roman, China, India, Persia for their foreign trade. Therefore Sri Lanka was able to make new economic relationships. In this study, we mainly focused on Sri Lankan maritime trade relationship with Greco-Roman. Our research problem is, what was the trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman ?. Our objective is to identify the importance of Sri Lanka along with the Greco-Roman trade. This study was conducted under the qualitative research method using a library survey. From these three sources Literary sources, especially foreign texts have many records about Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman trade. Some of those authors were Cosmos, Pliny, Ptolemy and Strabo. Some archaeological evidence found from ports like Mantai, Godawaya and Kingdoms like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa. The main archaeological evidence is Roman and Indo-Roman coins for the trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman. Certain Indian factors were also important in conducting this research because Sri Lankan trade had a close relationship with Indian trade also. From this research we understood that there was an internal transport system in Sri Lanka, Roman trade was spread many places in Sri Lanka, in some times India and Persia acted as intermediaries between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman trade and the main point we identified was, Sri Lanka was a core in the ancient trade system and by the fifth century AD, Sri Lanka was one of the main trade centres in the Indian Ocean.

Published in International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14
Page(s) 55-61
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sri Lanka, Greco-Roman, Maritime Trade, Relation, Coins

References
[1] 1960. The Scriptores historiae augustae. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
[2] 2018, Purāṇayen Rupiyalaṭa, History of Currency in Sri Lanka, Department of Commiunication, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Colombo.
[3] Abeydeera, Ananda 2009, New light on the first Sri Lankan Embassy to Rome mentioned by Pliny the Elder, The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, Vol XXXV (1&2), University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.
[4] Armstrong, K., 2021. India and Sri Lanka in the time of the Roman Julio-Claudians by Keith Armstrong. [online] Academia.edu. Available at: [Accessed 16 May 2021].
[5] Bandaranayake, S., Devaraja, L., Silva, R., Wimalaratne, K. D. G, 2013 “Sri Lanka and the Silk Road of the sea“, Sri Lanka Institute of International Relations, CCF, Sri Lanka National Commission For UNESCO.
[6] Begley, V (2004), in Ancient port of Arikamedu new excavations and researches, 1989-1992, Volume 1. Pondichéry: Centre d’histoire et d’archéologie, École française d’Extrême-Orient.
[7] Begley, V. (1983). Arikamedu Reconsidered. American Journal of Archaeology, 87 (4), 461-481. doi: 10.2307/504104.
[8] Begley, V. (1988). Rouletted Ware at Arikamedu: A New Approach. American Journal of Archaeology, 92 (3), 427-440. doi: 10.2307/505557.
[9] Berggren, J. L., Jones, A., & Ptolemy,. (2000). Ptolemy's Geography: An annotated translation of the theoretical chapters. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
[10] Bopearachchi, O., 1990 "Some observations on roman coins found in recent excavations at Sigiriya”, Ancient Ceylon No. 08, p. 20.
[11] Bopearachchi, O., Falk, H., & Wickremesinhe, R. (2000). Earliest Inscribed Coins, Moulds, Seals and Sealings from Tissamaharama (Sri Lanka). The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), 160, 117-134. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42668263
[12] Bopearachchi, Osmund & Wickremesinghe, Rajah M. 1999, Ruhuna an ancient civilization re-visited Numismatic and Archaeological evidence on inland and maritime trade, R. M. Wickremesinghe, Nugegoda.
[13] Boussac, M., Salles, J. and Yon, J., 2016. Ports of the ancient Indian Ocean. Delhi: Primus Books.
[14] Cherian, P. J., Raviprasad, G. V., Datta, K., Ray, D. K., Selvakumar, V., Shajan, K. P., 2009 ‘Chronology of Pattanam: A Multi-cultural Port Site on the Malabar Coast’, Current Science, Vol. 97 (2), 236–40.
[15] Cherian, P. J., Selvakumar, V., Shajan, K. P, 2007, ‘Evidence for the Ancient Port of Muziri at Pattanam, Kerala’, Chemmozhi, Vol. 2 (1), pp. 26–27.
[16] Cobb, M. 2018. Rome and the Indian Ocean trade from Augustus to the early third century CE. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004376571
[17] Codrington, H. W. 1924, Ceylon coins and currency, Joseph Pearson (Ed.), Colombo National Museum, Colombo 07.
[18] Coningham, R. A. E., M. J. Manuel & J. Shoebridge. 2016. Reconstructing networks of trade and exchange in the Indian Ocean during the Early Historic period: case studies from Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka), in K. S. Mathew (ed.) Imperial Rome, Indian Ocean regions and Muziris. New perspectives on maritime trade: 31–52. Abindgon: Routledge.
[19] Coningham, R. A. E., M. J. Manuel, C. E. Davis & P. Gunawardhana. 2017. Archaeology and cosmopolitanism in Early Historic and medieval Sri Lanka, in Z. Biedermann & A. Strathern (ed.) Sri Lanka at the crossroads of history: 19–43. London: UCL Press.
[20] Cosmas, C., 1909. Topographia christiana. Winstedt, E. O. Ed. Cambridge: Univ. Pr.
[21] Darley, R. 2017. ‘Implicit cosmopolitanism’ and the commercial role of ancient Lanka. In Biedermann Z. & Strathern A. (Eds.), Sri Lanka at the Crossroads of History (pp. 44-65). London: UCL Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctt1qnw8bs.7.
[22] De B. Priaulx, O. (1863). On the Indian Embassies to Rome, from the Reign of Claudius to the Death of Justinian-Continued from p. 298 of the XIXth Vol., Journ. R. A. S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 20, 269-312. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25581251
[23] De Beauvoir Priaulx, O. (1861). On the Second Indian Embassy to Rome (Pliny, Nat. Hist. VI, 24). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 18, 345-361. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25228702
[24] De Romanis, F. 2005, ‘Romanukharattha and Taprobane: Relations between Rome and Sri Lanka in the First Century AD’, in De Romanis, F., Tchernia, A., eds, Crossings: Early Mediterranean Contact with India, New Delhi, pp. 41–43.
[25] Dissanayake, G. U., 2017. Purāṇa śrīlaṁkāva vidēśa raṭaval saman̆ga pævæt vū vāṇija sambandhatā piḷiban̆da aitihāsika saha purāvidyātmaka adhyayanayak, Karuna – Prof W. S Karunathilake Commeration Volume In Sinhala, S Godage and Brothers Pvt ltd. Colombo 10.
[26] Ferguson, D. (1904). The "Taprobane" of Pliny and Ptolemy. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 539-541. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25208681
[27] Fitzpatrick, M. (2011). Provincializing Rome: The Indian Ocean Trade Network and Roman Imperialism. Journal of World History, 22 (1), 27-54. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23011677
[28] Gaur, A. S., Muthucumarana, R., Chandraratne, W. M., Orillandeda, B. C., Manders, M., Karunarathna, S., Weerasinghe, P., Dayananda, A. M. A., Zainab, T., Sudaryadi, A., Ghani, K. A. B. A., Wahjudin, J., Samaraweera, N. 2011, Preliminary assessment of an early historic (2000 years old) shipwreck at Godawaya, Sri Lanka, Bulletin of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology.
[29] Gurukkal, R. (2013) ‘Classical Indo-Roman Trade: A Historiographical Reconsideration’, Indian Historical Review, 40 (2), pp. 181–206. DOI: 10.1177/0376983613499670.
[30] Huntingford, G. and Agatharchides., 2016. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. London: Routledge.
[31] Internet Archive. 2021. Cosmographia: Ptolemy, 2nd cent: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive. [online] Available at: .
[32] Jayasuriya, C. (1949). A Historical Survey of Ceylon Trade. Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 97 (4802), 757-768. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41363924
[33] Jayasuriya, C. E. P. 1949, A historical survey of Ceylon trade, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol 97, No.4802, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
[34] Kingwell-Banham, E., Bohingamuwa, W., Perera, N., Adikari, G., Crowther, A., Fuller, D., & Boivin, N. 2018. Spice and rice: Pepper, cloves and everyday cereal foods at the ancient port of Mantai, Sri Lanka. Antiquity, 92 (366), 1552-1570. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2018.168.
[35] Lawler, A. (2014). Seafaring in Ancient Sri Lanka. Archaeology, 67 (6), 42-47. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24364646
[36] Lawler, Andrew 2014, Seafaring in ancient Sri Lanka, Archaeology, Vol 67, Archaeological Institute of America.
[37] Mahavasha In Sinhala, 2012, Sri Sumangala Thero, Hikkaduwe & Batuwantudawe (ed), Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka.
[38] McLaughlin, R. (2014). Ancient Contacts: The Roman Emperor and the Sinhalese King. Classics Ireland, 21-22, 1-40. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26246545
[39] Meredith, D. (1953). Annius Plocamus: Two Inscriptions from the Berenice Road. The Journal of Roman Studies, 43, 38-40. doi: 10.2307/297778.
[40] Müller, K., 1990. Geographi Graeci minores. Hildesheim: G. Olms.
[41] Munasinghe, D. S. A., Fernando, D. C. V. 2016, Trading Relationships between ancient Sri Lanka and ancient Greek and Rome, Oracle, Vol VII, No 01. Department of Western Classical Culture, University of Kelaniya. pp 35-37.
[42] Muthucumarana, Rasika., Gaur, A. S., Rao, B. R., Chandraratne, W. M., Manders, M., Dayananda, A. M. A., Khedekar, V. D. & Bhushan, Ravi, 2014, An early historic assemblage offshore of Godawaya, Sri Lanka: Evidence for early regional seafaring of South Asia, Journal of Maritime Archaeology Vol 9, No 1, Springer. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261016208
[43] Ovid. Tristia. Ex Ponto. Translated by A. L. Wheeler. Revised by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 151. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1924.
[44] Peris, Merlin. 2006, Greeks in the Mahavamsa, The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, Vol XXXII (1&2), University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.
[45] Pliny, 2010. Naturalis historia. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers.
[46] Ravitchandirane, P. (2007). Stratigraphy and Structural Context of Arikamedu. East and West, 57 (1/4), 205-233. Retrieved May 17, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29757729
[47] Researchomnia, 2016, Roman Commerce with Ceylon & Beyond http://researchomnia.blogspot.com/2016/09/roman-commerce-with-ceylon-surrounding.html?m=1
[48] Seland, E. (2014). Archaeology of Trade in the Western Indian Ocean, 300 BC-AD 700. Journal of Archaeological Research, 22 (4), 367-402. Retrieved May 17, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24018067
[49] Selvakumar, V.., ‘Trial excavations at Pattanam, Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam District, Kerala—A Preliminary Report’, Journal of the Centre for Heritage Studies, Vol. 2, 2005, 57–66.
[50] Wansaththappakasini In Sinhala, Amarawansha Thero, Akuratiye.
[51] Weerakkodi, D. P. M., 1981. Ancient Sri Lanka as Described by Cosmas, The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, vol. vii, no. 1 & 2, University of Peradeniya, pp. 107-127.
[52] Weerakkodi, D. P. M., 1989. Sri Lanka as known to Strabo, Sri Lanka Journal of Humanities vol. XV, University of Peradeniya. pp 55-64.
[53] Weerakkodi, D. P. M., 1990. The note on the Greek names for Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Journal of Humanities vol. XVI, University of Peradeniya, pp 118-130.
[54] Weerakkodi, D. P. M., 1993. Pliny's Influence on Later Latin Notices of Sri Lanka, The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, vol. xix, no. 1 & 2, University of Peradeniya, pp. 27-33.
[55] Weerakkodi, D. P. M., 1995. Roman Coins of Sri Lanka: Some Observations, The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, vol. xxi, no. 1&2, University of Peradeniya, pp. 1-30.
[56] Weerakkodi: in “Roman Coins of Sri Lanka: Some Observations”, The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, (1995), p. 1 -30.
[57] Weerakkody, D. P. M. 1997, Taprobane - Ancient Sri Lanka as known to Greeks and Romans, BREPOLS, Turnhout.
[58] Bouzek, J. (ed.), 1993. Ceylon Between East and West. Anuradhapura Abhayagiri Vihara 1981–1984. Excavations and Studies. Prague.
[59] Bouzek, J., Deraniyagala, S. U. 1985 Tessons de vases Hellénistiques trouvés en Sri Lanka. In: Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 109: 589–596.
[60] Carswell, J. Deraniyagala, S. U and Graham, A. 2013. Mantai. City by the Sea, Linden Soft Verlag. Hb., ISBN-13: 9783929290394.
[61] Schenk, H. 2001, The Development of Pottery at Tissamaharama. In: Weisshaar, H.-J. Roth, H. Wijeyapala, W. (eds.), Ancient Ruhuna. Sri Lankan – German Archaeological Project in the Southern Province Vol. 1. (= Materialien zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie 58), pp. 59–195. Mainz.
[62] Silva R. 1985, Mantai – a second Arikamedu? In: Antiquity. 59: 46–47.
[63] Walburg, R. 1991, Late Roman Copper Coins from Southern India. In: Jha, A. K. (ed.), Coinage, Trade and Economy, January 8th–11th, 1991, 3rd International Colloquium. Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies, pp. 164–167. Bombay.
[64] Walburg, R. 2008 Coins and Tokens from Ancient Ceylon. In: Weisshaar, H-J./Dissanayake, S. (eds.), Ancient Ruhuna. Sri Lankan – German Archaeological Project in the Southern Province, Vol. 2. (= Forschungen zur Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen 5). Wiesbaden.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Don Sashika Anushan Munasinghe. (2021). Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman Maritime Trade Relations (According to Literary Sources & Archaeological Evidence). International Journal of Archaeology, 9(2), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Don Sashika Anushan Munasinghe. Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman Maritime Trade Relations (According to Literary Sources & Archaeological Evidence). Int. J. Archaeol. 2021, 9(2), 55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Don Sashika Anushan Munasinghe. Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman Maritime Trade Relations (According to Literary Sources & Archaeological Evidence). Int J Archaeol. 2021;9(2):55-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14,
      author = {Don Sashika Anushan Munasinghe},
      title = {Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman Maritime Trade Relations (According to Literary Sources & Archaeological Evidence)},
      journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {55-61},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20210902.14},
      abstract = {Sri Lanka had maritime trade relations even in the 6th century BC and we had famous naval ports used for maritime trade specially for maritime ‘Silk Road’ used by people who was in Greco-Roman, China, India, Persia for their foreign trade. Therefore Sri Lanka was able to make new economic relationships. In this study, we mainly focused on Sri Lankan maritime trade relationship with Greco-Roman. Our research problem is, what was the trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman ?. Our objective is to identify the importance of Sri Lanka along with the Greco-Roman trade. This study was conducted under the qualitative research method using a library survey. From these three sources Literary sources, especially foreign texts have many records about Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman trade. Some of those authors were Cosmos, Pliny, Ptolemy and Strabo. Some archaeological evidence found from ports like Mantai, Godawaya and Kingdoms like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa. The main archaeological evidence is Roman and Indo-Roman coins for the trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman. Certain Indian factors were also important in conducting this research because Sri Lankan trade had a close relationship with Indian trade also. From this research we understood that there was an internal transport system in Sri Lanka, Roman trade was spread many places in Sri Lanka, in some times India and Persia acted as intermediaries between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman trade and the main point we identified was, Sri Lanka was a core in the ancient trade system and by the fifth century AD, Sri Lanka was one of the main trade centres in the Indian Ocean.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman Maritime Trade Relations (According to Literary Sources & Archaeological Evidence)
    AU  - Don Sashika Anushan Munasinghe
    Y1  - 2021/11/23
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14
    T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
    JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
    JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
    SP  - 55
    EP  - 61
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7595
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20210902.14
    AB  - Sri Lanka had maritime trade relations even in the 6th century BC and we had famous naval ports used for maritime trade specially for maritime ‘Silk Road’ used by people who was in Greco-Roman, China, India, Persia for their foreign trade. Therefore Sri Lanka was able to make new economic relationships. In this study, we mainly focused on Sri Lankan maritime trade relationship with Greco-Roman. Our research problem is, what was the trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman ?. Our objective is to identify the importance of Sri Lanka along with the Greco-Roman trade. This study was conducted under the qualitative research method using a library survey. From these three sources Literary sources, especially foreign texts have many records about Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman trade. Some of those authors were Cosmos, Pliny, Ptolemy and Strabo. Some archaeological evidence found from ports like Mantai, Godawaya and Kingdoms like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa. The main archaeological evidence is Roman and Indo-Roman coins for the trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman. Certain Indian factors were also important in conducting this research because Sri Lankan trade had a close relationship with Indian trade also. From this research we understood that there was an internal transport system in Sri Lanka, Roman trade was spread many places in Sri Lanka, in some times India and Persia acted as intermediaries between Sri Lanka and Greco-Roman trade and the main point we identified was, Sri Lanka was a core in the ancient trade system and by the fifth century AD, Sri Lanka was one of the main trade centres in the Indian Ocean.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

  • Sections