For generations, the people of Poompuhar have spoken of the days when their sleepy fishing town was the capital of a powerful kingdom, and traders came from Rome, Greece and Egypt to deal in pearls and silk.
Then, more than 1,500 years ago, it was gone. The thriving town, according to ancient Tamil-language texts, was <
Perhaps, archaeologists and historians thought, the sea water had gradually risen. Or, some think now, perhaps it was something else.
"Nobody knew what had happened," said Murugaiyan, a 38-year-old fisherman whose family has long talked of an ancient kingdom that vanished. On Dec. 26, though, it all became clear to him, when the tsunami slammed into coastlines across Asia and Africa.
"Now I know," he said. "It must have been another tsunami."
At least 170 people died in Poompuhar when last month's tsunami hit. More than 150,000 other people died across nearly a dozen countries.
The death toll in Poompuhar would have been worse, they say here, except that most of the fisherman had already pulled their boats to shore when the waves appeared.
"The sea was unusually calm. Then we saw the sea rising suddenly and we knew something was terribly wrong. We started running," Murugaiyan said. Most of the dead in Poompuhar were women and children, including four of Murugaiyan's relatives.
He survived by clinging to a coconut tree, watching the tide wash away the fishermen's hamlets.
He believes the town's past is echoed in what it's going through now.
"My grandfather used to say our town was taken by the sea. His grandfather told him there was a big town long, long ago -- very rich, very beautiful," said Murugaiyan, who uses only one name.
Poompuhar was the capital of the Chola rulers, a Tamil dynasty with a recorded history going back to 200 BC. It was a place where silk merchants and grain traders set sail for the Far East, Greece and Egypt, archaeologists say.
The town had special enclaves for foreign visitors and the king's soldiers. In the streets, languages could be heard from around the world. It was dotted with temples, a sign of a prosperous Hindu kingdom.
But the ancient city now lies under water about 3km offshore. All that remains are a few temples and the modern town, which consists of about 2,000 fishing families.
Undersea excavations and studies by historians show that Poompuhar grew into a big town during the reign of Karikal Cholan, the second-century Chola king who established trade ties with China, Arabia and the Roman Empire.
Remnants of brick buildings, water reservoirs, a boat jetty and Roman coins have been found during undersea excavations.
The archaeologists' findings are supported by ancient Tamil literature, which have frequent references to Poompuhar.
"The description we have in our ancient literature is that it was a bustling port town," said S. Jayadevan, professor of Tamil Studies at Madras University.
"The Romans would come here to buy pearls. They would bring the Arabs," Jayadevan said. "There was also trade in spices and silk."
It's not clear when the town was submerged, though most estimates put it somewhere between the third and sixth centuries.
"There is a break in Tamil history during this period. We believe we were under foreign rule," said M. Rajendran, director of Tamil Sangappalgai, a government-funded group researching Tamil Nadu's ancient history and literature.
"The Dec. 26 tsunami has added a new dimension," said Rajendran. "Previously, archaeologists in our country never factored this into their work."
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was