Depths of Goa’s maritime history being plumbed, timeless treasures emerge

With Goa having a few ancient ports on its 105km coastline and former capitals on riverbanks, such as Gopakpattan and Chandrapur, its rich and colourful maritime history goes back to the hoary times of ships, seafarers, traders and others from foreign lands.These natural harbours in Goa were ports of call for ships from far-off lands for trade in spices and other goods in ancient times, though archaeological evidence of the state’s links with other countries is more recent. medium111048853 medium111048860 medium111048872 medium111048883“The earliest archaeological evidence and texts indicate that the maritime activities in Goa go back to the Shilahara dynasty (AD 750-1010) and the Kadamba dynasty (AD 1008-1300),” said A S Gaur, a marine archaeologist at National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dona Paula.Both dynasties were great maritime powers and established and maintained trade contacts with the countries of West Asia and East Africa.Significantly, the finding of a black granite Cross with inscriptions in Pahlavi (an archaic form of the modern Persian language) was further proof of Goa’s links with Asian Christians before the Portuguese landed in Goa. medium111048907The Cross was found near St Peter’s Chapel on the Zuari’s bank at Dandi, Agasaim. Researchers linked it to St Thomas Christians from the Persian region at Gopakpattan port (then part of Agasaim and Goa Velha).“There are possibilities of earlier evidence as William H Schoff who says Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and Ptolemy mentioned about Goa. Thus, the antiquity of maritime activity can go back to the early centuries of the Christian era,” Gaur said. medium111048911India’s maritime history and archaeological evidence of it go deeper into several millennia. One of the oldest ports in India, dating back to 4,500 years at Lothal in Gujarat was discovered by the famous scientist, Prof S R Rao, from NIO’s marine archaeological division.In the era of sea route discoveries, Portuguese traveller Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed to India. medium111048949“Da Gama landed at Kappad, near Kozhikode in Kerala and his discovery of the sea route to India is a major milestone in maritime history,” said M R Ramesh Kumar, a former chief scientist at NIO. medium111048915Another significant development was the successful completion of the first International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) of which the famed scientist, the late N K Panikkar, was a key member.“The Indian Ocean was the least explored ocean compared to the Pacific and the Atlantic. At the end of IIOE, NIO was set up at Dona Paula on Jan 1, 1966, with Panikkar as its first director,” Kumar said. “This opened the vista for maritime exploration and gathering priceless maritime antiquities and new insights into maritime history.” medium111048918NIO’s marine archaeological explorations in Dwarka and Goa, among other old ports, have helped collect around 40 ancient stone anchors and other souvenirs from the sea.While National Maritime Heritage Complex is coming up near Lothal, treasures gathered by NIO from the depths of the oceans which reveal India’s glorious maritime past are displayed on the western side of the NIO building at Dona Paula.Maritime heritage also includes shipwrecks. “Goa is rich in this aspect and the state has huge potential for maritime heritage. It has many sculptures which also depict the state’s maritime history,” Gaur said.But all these unique pieces of heritage are scattered and accessible to only scholars. “They should be brought under a single roof to showcase Goa’s ancient connect with distant lands and its rich maritime traditions to heritage lovers, students, and the public,” Gaur said.