THE GREAT ANCIENT EMPIRESThe sun shone over the open terraces, over the warehouses near
the harbour and over the turrets with windows like eyes of deer. In
different places of Puhar the onlooker’s attention was caught by
the sight of the abodes of Yavanas, whose prosperity never waned.
At the harbour were to be seen sailors from many lands, but to all
appearances they live as one community.^4This Kaveripatnam situated at the mouth of the Kaveri was probably
identical with the emporium of Khaberis described by Ptolemy.
The trade with Rome brought large numbers of Roman gold coins to
South India. In contrast with the Kushanas who melted down all Roman
coins and reissued them in their own name, the rulers of South India did
not do this but simply defaced the coins. A sharp cut across the face of the
Roman emperor indicated that his sovereignty was not recognised but his
coins were welcome and would be accepted according to their own
intrinsic value. Just as in later periods, the Indians imported very few goods
but were eager to get precious metals, so the quest for Roman gold was a
driving force of India’s international trade in ancient times. The Periplus
reported this influx of coins and a text of the Sangam era highlights this,
too: ‘The beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with gold and
returned with pepper, and Muziris resounded with the noise.’^5 Thus it is no
accident that the largest number of Roman gold hoards have been found in
the hinterland of Muziris. In the area around Coimbatore, through which
the trade route from the Malabar coast led into the interior of South India
and on to the east coast, eleven rich hoards of gold and silver Roman coins
of the first century AD were found. Perhaps they were the savings of
pepper planters and merchants or the loot of highwaymen who may have
made this important trade route their special target.