Chennimalai
Chennimalai
Main page

Chennimalai

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Chennimalai


Chennimalai is a town in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated away from Erode of about 28kms., Chenni which means Chief and Malai means Hill. It is popularly known as the 'Handloom Town'.[citation needed]

Kodumanal is a village located near Chennimalai in the Erode district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam literature. The place is an important archaeological site, under the control of State Archaeological Department of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the northern banks of Noyyal River, a tributary of the Cauvery.

The inhabitants of this destroyed ancient city of Chera dynasty were highly skilled craftsmen, who were specialized in making beads and high-quality iron. The place is referred to in Sangam literature as an important industrial centre that had links with the Chola port city of Kaveripoompattinam, now called Poompuhar.

The city played a major role in Indo-Roman trade and relations, as the ancient city is located on the mid-way of a Roman trade route, linking Muziris port on the Malabar Coast with the Kaveripoompattinam (Puhar) Port in the Coromandel Coast.

Excavations have been carried out and it came out with the layers of a megalithic-cum-early tombs of historic period. Also there were two female and one male human skeleton were recovered from a pit burial in this site. A set of 300 megalithic tombs of different types and sizes were observed and recorded in this area.

The ancient city has been destroyed in time and now the area is available with the remains of a megalithic settlement dating back to the 2nd century BC. Apparently, this was the centre for the Romans who visited to obtain beryls from Kodumanal. The megalithic communities that flourished in this site belong to the period of the 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD.

This place was once celebrated for its trade in precious stones like Garnet, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire and Quartz. The people of this city were experts in manufacturing the finest iron. The Iron Pillar in Qutub Complex in Delhi, a rustless wonder, was built from the wrought iron produced from this place.

Excavations also came out with ancient iron objects such as arrowheads and swords. Also they have collected Roman artefacts, iron-melting furnaces, beads, shell bangles and pottery with the Brahmi scripts from the habitation deposits and burials. The other collections from the excavation of this site include roulette pottery, Roman silver coins, and gold and silver spirals. A bronze statue of a lion and an iron-melting furnace were important helpful in deciding the past history.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.