MARINE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN INDIAN WATERS Marine Archaeology Underwater Archaeology or Marine archaeology is a interdisciplinary study which acts a bridge between humanities and the sciences. It is also termed sometimes as Underwater Archaeology or Nautical Archaeology. It can be defined as the "study of past seafaring from the material remains of the activities". There are number of port-towns and other habitational sites which existed in the past, but may be now under the sea due to relative changes in sea level due to any reasons. There are also several ancient historic shipwrecks in the coastal zone wrecked either by inexperienced navigation, storms or overloading. The main objectives of marine archaeology are to locate and explore submerged ancient port installations, sunken cities and architecture of shipwrecks etc., to reconstruct maritime history. Submerged sites and sunken shipwrecks are our cultural heritage. It is critical for us to decipher the records and link the past with the present. The rampart developmental activities in coastal zone, may destroy the evidence of bygone civilization for ever. It is therefore imperative to make marine archaeological investigations mandatory in the coastal zone, where any kind of developmental activities are taking place such as development of ports, harbours, industry and tourism etc. In case if any kind of archaeological remains are found, they should immediately inform to archaeological authorities, because once the evidence is lost, it can never be recovered. The cohesive and intensive efforts should be made by public in general and archaeologists in particular, not only to create awareness but also convergent with techniques in marine archaeology. A body to monitor and educate concerned organization from different countries for the purpose should be established. Maritime History and Linkages with other Civilization Indian Ocean has witnessed the dawn of several Bronze Age Civilization around it; for instance Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Indus Valley in the 4th-3rd millennium B.C. where the evidence of overseas trade are also recorded. Around Christian Era Romans were very actively involved in overseas trade with India. This is already proved by the presence of several Roman Period sites along the Indian coast. Finally in the 16th century A.D. several European races such as the Portuguese, British, Dutch, French and Danish etc. came through sea, down to Africa, Madagascar finally to India. There are several archival records which suggest that a number of ships sank in the sea, which have now became a part of the cultural heritage of the respective countries. Apart from shipwrecks several ancient ports have also been submerged in the sea which needs our attention to unearth for educational and scientific purposes. The marine archaeological researches have flourished in countries like UK, USA, Germany, Israel as also in the Indian Ocean countries like China, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Australia. This work has revealed cultural links and provided insight on ancient trade system and level of knowledge on ship building and navigation. Marine Archaeology in India India initiated underwater archaeological research in 1981 by establishing Marine Archaeology Centre in the National Institute of Oceanography at Goa. Though developed late, Marine Archaeology, a nascent branch of archaeology is a fast developing discipline in India. At present the Marie Archaeology Centre at the National Institute of Oceanography has a well established team of Archaeologists trained in diving, and capable of carrying out literature search, identifying and understanding the importance of antiquities, and also able to properly document underwater a finding before retrieval. We have the necessary infrastructure for diving including compressors, underwater TV/still cameras, ROV, and our archaeologists have the required certification from both Indian and US schools of diving, to dive down to water depths upto 30 m. We are therefore, as such, self-sufficient in marine archaeology. Ancient Submerged Port Towns and Cities: The ocean played a great role in the lives of the coastal people. The exploration of marine resources along the world coast dates back to the times of prehistoric man. Even the Neolithic people used the sea for various purposes. During the last 4000 years due to tectonic and eustatic changes in the sea level a number of human settlement sites have submerged either fully or partially. During the last 40 years serious attempts are being made in the world around to explore sunken ships and submerged ports. The examples from the Israel coast of the Mediterranean are ranging from Palaeolithic Period to Iron Age have gone into the sea or lying near to the shore. Similarly, seventy archaeological sites have been noticed on the coasts of the Pelopennese and south-west Turkey. The age of these sites vary from 2000 B.C. to modern period. The Port Royal of Jamaica, one of the cosmopolitan cities in the West Indies is the latest example. The height of prosperity of Port Royal came to an end at 11.40 A.M. on 7th June, 1692. The severe earthquake shook Port Royal causing two thirds of the city to slide in the ocean within 2 minutes. The Institute of Nautical Archaeology was invited to continue excavations in terms of archaeology in the city in 1981. The excavation of the entire sunken town site will require decades of work. Indian examples of ancient port towns: India with its 5000 years history of maritime activity and 6000 km coast has played a major role in commerce and cultural interaction between the East and West. Thousands of ships have crossed the Indian Ocean and many were lost in nautical calamities, piracy and warfare. In India evidences of ship building, port and warehouses installations are datable to Harappan times (3500 -1500 yrs BP). The important Harappan and late Harappan ports are Lothal, Lakhabawal, Kindarkhera, Kuntasi, Megham, Prabhasa, Todio, Amra on the west coast of India. The excavations at these sites have yielded antiquities of Bahrain island, Persian gulf, Egypt and Mesopotamia cities. The same maritime traditions continued even during the Buddha, the Mauryas, the Gupta and in later periods. During historical period India had trade and cultural contacts with Egypt, Rome, Greeks, Arabs, China and all most all Southeast Asian countries. As a consequence, both the coasts of India have been studded with a string of ancient ports. The ports on the west coast were Barygaya, Suppara, Calliena, Semylla, Mandagore, Palaepatme, Malizigara, Aurranobbas, Byzantine, Naura, Tyndis, Muziris and Nelcynda and the ports on the east coast were Tamralipti, Charitrapur, Paluru, Dantapur, Kalingapatnam, Pithunda, Sopatma, Ghantasala, Poduca, Puhar, Korkai and Camara. In India, Marine Archaeological explorations are undertaken at Dwarka, Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Lakshadweep, Vijaydurg on the west coast and Tranquebar and Poompuhar on the east coast of India. . Dwarka Explorations Dwarka on the west coast of India, is a well known ancient port, now believed to have been submerged. The excavations carried out during 1979 in the Dwarkadhish Temple Complex revealed three temple remains. In all, eight settlements can be distinguished at Dwarka. The first settlement made in the 15th century B.C. was submerged or washed away and so also the second one made in the 10th century B.C. After a long gap the third settlement was made in the 1st century B.C./A.D. as suggested by the Red Polished Ware and copper coins known as Karshapanas. It is during this phase that Temple I, was built. The lime-plastered surface of its stone masonry still retaining a few lines of red ochre painting suggests that the plinth was open to view above the then working level. After the first temple was destroyed the second temple came to be built on the ruins of the first. When the second temple was also destroyed, the third temple was built in the 9th century. It was perhaps in the 12th century a storm-wave blew away the roof leaving only the walls and plinth. The fourth temple came into existence soon after. The present temple of Dwarkadhish is the fifth in the series. Temples I to V represent respectively settlements III to VII and the modern town is the eighth settlement at Dwarka. It is this sequence finding of which led to present explorations at Dwarka. A marine archaeologist has to gather as much information as possible from literary sources and oral tradition before selecting a site for excavation. He has to visualize the plan and extent of the submerged city and salient features, if any. During 1983-1992 underwater archaeological explorations have been carried out almost every year in Dwarka waters. The successive underwater investigations off Dwarka in about 4 to 12 m water depth have revealed the presence of a number of submerged stone building blocks such as remains of wall, pillar and bastion and also stone anchors of various types like three-holed, prismatic and triangular were noticed in various places. SDDE and SCUBA systems were used for the underwater exploration along with 'Aquazepp' the underwater scooter. The survey boats were chartered and were equipped with underwater camera, underwater TV system and airlift equipment for exploration and excavation. At Dwarka approximately 9,80,000 sq. m area was explored between the water depth of 3 to 12 m off Samudranarayana Temple. Diving operations were undertaken in various locations covering 8 zones of detailed investigations. The important findings were documented mainly with still photography, underwater video filming and underwater drawings. The position of the objects were fixed with the help of sextants. The Geophysical survey equipment also used in Dwarka waters for survey purposes. The onshore explorations nearby Bet Dwarka revealed the presence of Late Indus seal depicting 3 headed animal, earthen vessel inscribed in the characters of Indus-Brahmi transition phase of about 1500 B.C. and the large quantity of pottery similar to Lustrous Red Ware bowl and the Red Ware dishes, dish-on-stand, perforated jar and incurved bowls which are datable to 1600-1500 B.C. in Dwarka, Rangpur and Prabhas. Among antiquities which are crucial to dating and determining the cultural sequence of submerged cities of Dwarka and Bet Dwarka are the Late Indus type seal, chert blades, an inscribed votive jar, 3-holed stone anchors, a stone-mould, an Olpin with loop-handle and a sprinkler-neck in pottery are important. The chronological sequence proposed on the basis of the antiquities can be corroborated by distinct ceramic wares. A small rectangular seal (20 x 18 mm) of conch shell with a perforated button at the back was found in trench UW6 of Bet Dwarka. A composite animal motif representing the short horned bull, unicorn and goat are engraved in an anticlockwise direction. A votive pottery vessel inscribed in post-Harappan script analogous to Sematic script. The inscription read Mahagachashah pa (mahakachashah-pa) meaning 'Sea Lord; Protect' in Old Indo-Aryan-Iranian language. Preliminary underwater explorations off Somnath were carried out during 1992 and 1995. The surveyed area falls into 3 zones, where diving operations were undertaken at 15 locations. The findings were a three-holed triangular stone anchor and a three-holed prismatic stone anchor measuring in length about a meter and a one holed circular stone object similar to that found in Dwarka. The findings were documented. The positions of objects were fixed with the help of GPS System and plotted on map. Poompuhar Exploration On the east coast, south of Madras, Poompuhar is believed to be a flourishing port in the beginning of the Christian etc. The Manimekhalai, a well known Tamil epic, mentions that the Chola King had lost his son and in his great grief he forgot to celebrate the annual Indra festival. This enraged the goddess Manimekhalai who caused the city to be swallowed by the sea. Though the reference is only to a supernatural incident, it may be taken as an echo of some actual furry of high tidal waves that lashed upon the city and passed down the generation by way of folklore. Marine archaeological explorations are being carried out since 1991 in Poompuhar waters in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu in pursuit of the truth, an evidence that can throw some light to confirm the legend. The main objective of this survey is to delineate the submerged extension of the ancient town of Kaveripoompattinam, north of the present river Kaveri and to explore the deep water. Extensive diving and airlifting operations were undertaken north of the river Kaveri at a water depth of 5-7 m. Offshore exploration was carried out in shallow waters, north of river Kaveri and south of the present Poompuhar village. A few dressed stone blocks were found in various water depths. One of them was semicircular with an L-shaped cut. Airlift operations yielded building blocks of stone and a number of potsherds of the early historical period (300 B.C. to 300 A.D.). Geophysical explorations carried out with the sub-bottom profiler revealed a submerged palaeochannel of the river Kaveri in the north of Poompuhar. The width of the channel varies from 300 m to 500 m and it is buried 20 m below the sea bottom. Explorations carried out in deeper waters (23 m depth) revealed presence of an U-shaped stone structure which was located about 5 km seaward of Kadaikaddu. The structure lies in north-south direction. Maximum height of structure on the outer side is about 3 m, while on the inner side it is less than 1 m and maximum length of which is 40 m and its width is 20 m. Vijaydurg Explorations The underwater explorations on the western side of the Vijaydurg Fort, about 100 m seaward revealed a stone structure at a water depth of 8 to 10 m It measures 122 m in length, 7 m in width and 3 m in height. Besides it a tidal dockyard was also located around 3 km from Vijaydurg fort on the left bank of Vaghotan river. The dockyard is 110 m and width is 75 m. It was hollowed out of a rock. The southern and eastern side is cut out of a natural rock and rest is dry masonry. In addition to this a number of grapnel and triangular stone anchors were noticed in the adjoining area of dockyard. Sindhudurg, the Ocean Fort was constructed by the Maratha King Shivaji on a low island about 1 kilometer off Malwan. Probably Malwan was a port in ancient times. During Satavahana rule in this region the ports of Maharashtra were reached to their zenith. In cosurse of exploration three triangular and three grapnel types of stone anchors were noticed at the entrance of the Sindhudurg fort. Anchors were made out of local available sand stones. Presently these anchors are cemented on the platform of the small jetty of the fort, presently, two other grapnel type of stone anchors are used as the mooring stones. The original place of these anchors is not known. But, it should be from nearby area only, where there might have been a number of ancient wrecks. The submerged rocks of adjoining area caused for wrecks due to inexperienced navigation. Local fishermen informed about the several shipwrecks behind the fort. Shipwreck Exploration Shipwrecks are the store house of knowledge for archaeologists but wealth for treasure hunters. Innumerable ships of various countries were lost in due to natural calamities, human error and warfare. Some shipwrecks have been excavated and others await the scientific spade of the marine archaeologists. Shipwrecks of the world: Mary Rose was built in Portsmouth between 1509 and 1511 and served in Henry VIII's Navy for 34 years before sinking on 19th July 1545. In 1982, after many years of painstaking search and investigation the wreck of Mary Rose was recovered from the seabed and preserved carefully with unprecedented interest and support from the public. In 1912 the luxury liner Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank with 1500 passengers to the Atlantic seabed in 12,500 ft. below. In 1986, Alvin and Jason the undersea craft (submersibles), under the leadership of Robert Ballard, toured around the wreckage and documented the remains. Similarly, Wasa, the Sweden ship which sank in 1628 was retrieved in 1958. The Ulu Burun shipwreck is datable to 14th century BC. The excavation yielded copper, tin and glass ingots, unworked ivory, gold and silver jewellery, metal and stone artifacts etc. The hull construction is similar to that of later period Greco-Roman ship. On the basis of comparison with wreck objects and land site antiquities it is suggested that the ship was sailing from east to west. In India a 18th century shipwreck is located at 19 m water depth off Poompuhar. Shipwrecks of same period were also discovered in Goa waters. Shipwrecks were also located in Lakshadweep waters. Poompuhar A highly significant achievement of Poompuhar underwater exploration is the discovery of a large shipwreck which carried a huge quantity of lead ingots dated 1791 and 1792 A.D. and inscribed W. BLACKETT which must be name of the company manufacturing or dealing in lead ingots. Two of them bear the symbols of a crown below which is the letter `D'. This symbol of crown over 'D' is engraved on the coins issued by the Dutch in India. The further exploration was carried out at shipwreck in 1997. Extensive airlift operation suggest that ship is wooden hulled. The surface wooden planks are badly damaged due to wood borers but lower planks are in better condition. The ship seems to have belonged to the Dutch rulers in India and might have sunk during a war against the French in 1792-1993 as suggested by a few local people. But it seems that Denmark and Holland never produced lead, so one has to see the origin of lead in other western countries. Because in 17th century to 19th century England was the largest exporter of lead in the east. Lakshadweep The onshore explorations of Lakshadweep revealed the presence of significant potsherds of red ware, red-polished ware, dull ware, red and black ware ad buff ware from Kavaratti, Androth and Amini. Two Buddha heads (one 95 cm and the other 55 cm high) carved out of locally available coral rock found earlier by inhabitants of Androth, were examined and assigned to the 6 th-7th Century AD. The presence of red polished ware suggests the earliest habitation on these islands to 100-500 AD. Four Shipwrecks located in Lakshadweep waters one was at the reef of Suheli par and three at Minicoy. Two shipwrecks explored a water depth of 4-15 is about 100 m long. In one of them the steam engine is intact with a 27 m long shaft attached between engine and propeller blade. An anchor chain more than 100m long was also observed at a depth of about 15 m. In the other wreck the engine is disintegrated, however two boilers can be clearly noticed. Goa A wreck at Goa has been located which is more than 60 m long with a steel hulled cargo vessel with cabin, hatch, bridge and accommodation, it is more than 60 m long. One more historical shipwreck was discovered off Mormugao with large and dressed granite blocks, a cannon and an iron anchor. Thank you for visiting website page of Kamlesh Vora born at Bhuj-Kachchh (Gujarat) on 11th January, 1952. Shri. Vora, passed M.Sc. in Geology in 1974 and M.Tech (Civil) from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1976. He joined the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa on December 31, 1976 December. Straight away he was involved in a major project of the institute and perhaps even for the country i.e. Bombay High Oil Field Development programme, led by Late Dr. H.N. Siddiquie at the time when developing indiginous technology and saving precious foreign exchange was major thrust. Shri. Vora was one of the key member in a team to select pipeline routes from Bombay High to Bombay and Bassein to Gujarat. Soon he was also deputed to Norway under NORAD Programme for training in offshore engineering projects. Things were never static at NIO during early eighties - period of major development for NIO. After the historic discovery of polymetallic nodules on board RV Gaveshani in 1980 under the leadership of Dr. S.Z. Qasim, the Department of Ocean Development was formed and the country launched massive programme for exploration of Polymetallic nodules. Shri. Vora was the first Chief Scientist of this expanded project which ultimately helped the country to obtain the mining license under the Law of the Sea convention. It was also the first time perhaps in the world that scientific cruises of 45 days without any port call, were initiated at that time. Decade beginning from commissioning of R.V. Gaveshani in 1976 also heralded new era in the building up of Oceanographic data base on the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Shri Vora was an active member of the team that collected underway acoustic data specially echosounding, side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profiling at about 20 km spacing covering entire western shelf of India. The data so generated has been the base for inferring palaeo-sealevel and other oceanographic conditions using geomorphic features. Early eighties, 1981 to say precisely, saw yet another field, Marine archaeology, traded by Shri. Vora when he initiated Poompuhar Project in Tamil nadu Coast to search for lost city which was flourishing in the beginning of the Christian Era. He also then carried out marine archaeological explorations at Dwarka. Subsequently in 1991 he was chosen to look after Marine Archaeology Centre of the institute as a Scientist-in-Charge. Shri. Vora has been also deputed to Caribbean Countries as a member of Project CORE, to Mauritius under a bilateral assistance programme and to Australia to attend first meeting of IGCP (International Geological Correlation Programme) Project 396 "Continental Shelves in the Quaternary: Interpretation, Correlation and Application.