Onshore and near shore explorations along the southern Tamilnadu coast: With a view to locating ancient ports and submerged sites

Abstract

Tamilnadu coast is dotted with several ancient ports. An onshore exploration was carried out along the southern Tamilnadu coast and located several medieval ports near Nagarcoil and in Rameswaram island which include Puttan Thurai, Mana Kudi and Ariyagundur. The survey was carried out at well-known ports at Korkoi, Alagankulam, Tranquebar and Poompuhar. Presently, Korkai and Alagankulam are located far hinterland while remaining ports are situated right on the coasts and partly submerged under the sea. The paper discusses the present state of art of the ancient port and possible causes of shoreline changes at various places on the Tamilnadu coast.