Tamizhagam and Rome Trade had flourished between the Tamil country and Rome even when Rome was a republic. Roman coins and artefacts of the period have been excavated at Arikamedu, near Pondicherry, which is said to have been an Indo-Roman trading station. Before the first century of the Common Era, Roman ships did not venture past the western coast of India around Cape Comorin. So the ports on the west coast were the main ports involved in trade with Rome.
From the west coast, the Roman traders travelled overland through the Palghat pass to production centres further east. Kodumanal in Erode, Padiyur in Tiruppur and Vaniyampadi near Vellore had mines producing beryl, which was a gemstone in high demand in Rome. In addition, Chennimalai near Erode produced iron and steel (remnants of furnaces and slag have been found here), which was also exported to Rome. This is the reason why the finds of Roman coins of the earlier period are concentrated in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Karur districts.
By the end of the first century CE, however, Roman ships had begun to sail to ports on the Coromandel (east) coast of Tamil Nadu, and many of these ports are mentioned in the Periplus . On the west coast, the main ports were Naura (Cannanore) and Tyndys/Tondi (Ponnani), which were said to be on the northern border of the Tamil country of the Cheras. Musiri or Muziris was an important port located further accounts complement the information in the Tamil sources, especially with respect to trade. A first century CE account in Greek, the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea ( Periplus Maris Erythraei ), is the most reliable source of information on the ports of the Indian coast and trade.
Archaeological findings confirm the information from all these sources. Contours of International Trade Two major developments changed the contours of trade between Europe and India towards the beginning of the Common Era. By the end of the last century BCE, Rome emerged as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, displacing the Greek kingdoms, and the republic became an empire in