via Roar Media, 02 January 2021: A look at the ancient port city of Mannar in Sri Lanka.
Mannar’s fame as a significant shipping and harbour point in the Indian Ocean has its roots in prehistory. Evidence gathered in excavations carried out by prominent archaeologist Professor S. U. Deraniyagala, has pointed at prehistoric human settlements of the Iranamadu composition. In ancient Sri Lanka, the most famous and significant port was in Mannar, aka Mathota. IT was also termed Medettu on the map sketched by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD.
The renowned port has been chronicled in the Mahāvaṃsa since the period of King Vijaya, and excavations have unearthed rich evidence of copper, iron and many other metal artefacts. It’s believed the Mannar port even exported Seruwila copper to India.
Various stone inscriptions, including an evergreen song inscribed at Sigiriya, detail the island of Mannar and how large the city used to be.
