The mystery of India's ancient Port of Missouri has captivated archaeologists for decades once at the heart of one of the world's most influential trading routes and written about in the 2000-year-old Sangam literature for centuries the port of Missouri was a hub of interaction between South India and Persia the Middle East North Africa and the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean
The second-century map of the whole Roman Empire in which Missouri so Missouri was a reality and Missouri was brought to which Roman ships were coming so they came in search of pepper was considered to be equivalent to Gold it was called Black Gold and all that when pepper was such a fascinating item the overseas Traders were ready to take to any risky Adventures to go to places for procuring paper once hailed by Roman author Pliny the Elder as the first Emporium of India Missouri's was known for its opulence.
Frequented by ships carrying spices gems Ivory and silk however suddenly in the 14th century it was no more seemingly wiped off the map the great Port of Missouri disappeared Without a Trace some historians argue it fell with the decline of the Roman Empire others trace it to the devastating floods of Paria in 1341.
To this day there is still huge debate over Missouri's true location in 2006 seven there was excavation started in certain parts especially in patanam reveal strong trade relations with the Mediterranean and the European countries which led to the present discovery of the fort mosures I asked the director of paternal excavations managed 12 seasons of excavations so the excavations brought out a huge volume of evidences which speaks about the Multicultural character nearly 37 cultures belonging to Asia Europe and Africa here from 93 centimeters down we were getting materials from all over the world we have selected samples for dating but from stratigraphic and typological evidence we feel we are at the peak phase of the musaris at this level the excavations at Putnam have Unearthed many fascinating finds from gold ornaments to glass beads to early cherokeoins in 2020 a rare Roman Sphinx seal ring similar to the one worn by Augustus Caesar before he became Roman Emperor was discovered at the patanam site you're getting all these things in a small village like Putnam and you were not finding it anywhere else what it means this helpless little island called Putnam was an integral part of Mercedes this could be the modern New Yorker modern Shanghai or Mumbai however not all historians are convinced that patanan is the true location of the ancient Port of Missouri's historians have been talking about the existence of a civilization on the basis of These Fine Pottery wine jars and garam jars and so on now people immediately concluded that these were the objects imported by the Eastern Mediterraneans yeah it never imported but for their own purpose you don't find any of these items penetrating into the interior I wrote a paper in search of Missouri's that was based on a thorough study of the krangonur area and then we concluded that it could be somewhere near a tributary and closer to krangonur the controversy going on whether it's Putnam is this patnam looking at the Historical records Muslims is a very very large area so I think the whole area which will cover both sides of the river could be part of the original Mercedes I strongly believe that much more history is buried below the ground it had trade relationships with many ancient civilization of the Middle East similarly later all this Portuguese.
Dutch Colonial forces also came to the same place so we had this continuous history of you know trade it was following the mysterious disappearance of musuras in the 14th century that the port city of Kochi Rose to significance as a key Center of Trade in this part of India and to this day kochi and Missouri's continued to share a close Connection in 2012 the Kochi mazuri's biennale was established as India's first ever biennial of international Contemporary Art aiming to bring together the Cosmopolitan Spirit of modern Kochi and the mythical past of miseries as a hub of global culture used to be a receivers and all the time it received not only culture you know not only had the trade relationship but you know we we had all really religious component you know in a way this is an ideal ideal place I would say a secular place we could build or you know come together in this land and this that is one of the reason I think you know the finale also play an important role you know when we bring artists from around the world muslis is like mother for us there is a kind of umbilical code relationship with Muslim Kochi while the historical debate over the exact location of Missouri's continues to rumble on the archaeological evidence makes it clear that this part of India was a Melting Pot of global cultures exchanging Commodities and ideas over centuries and although India's first Emporium may have vanished from the map its Legacy can still be felt today.