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[Full title: PART I: Commodities of Trade (A) Commodities from India exported to the Mediterranean world and Indian Ocean lands (12) Shell/Chank Products]

Shell of marine animals constituted an item of Indo-Roman trade. The Periplus refers to export of tortoise shell from Muziris (that from Chryse Island and that taken among the islands along the coast of Damirica' - Periplus Maris Erythraei 56). Tortoise shell was also exported from Sri Lanka (Periplus Maris Erythraei 61) and the Ganges delta (Periplus Maris Erythraei 63). The Periplus (sec. 17) states that tortoise shell from India was superior to that of Arabia/East Africa. Another shell, the conch or chank, must have been exported to the Mediterranean. This is suggested by the evidence of chank working found in

99 99 association with Mediterranean artefacts at a number of sites such as Nevasa, Nagara and Bhokardan in western India (see discussion in Chapter V under Western India). In south India, Mediterranean amphorae fragments have been found in association with conch shell-cutting at Karaikadu (Raman 1992 a:125-133). Also, sites mentioned in ancient texts as centres of Indo-Mediterranean trade have revealed evidence of shell working. For instance, remains of shell bead/banglemaking have come to light in the Early Historic levels at the old settlement of Ter or Tagara of the Periplus (Chapekar 1969:9). Evidence of chank working has been discovered at the coastal site of Korkai or Kolchi on the Tamil Nadu coast (Nagaswamy 1970 b). The Periplus (59) refers to Korkai/Kolchi as a famous centre of pearl fishing. The Arthasastra (29.2, 45.5) also refers to conch shell working together with pearl fishing at Korkai. In Fig. 18 are plotted chank working industries in 'Roman-contact' levels of Early Historic sites in India. The distribution reveals concentrations in western and southern India.