Travel back in time with the Sphinx Muziris

“How did he come to Patanam?” Researcher Deepak Padmanabhan is talking about an intaglio or sphinx seal ring discovered in 2020 during excavations at Pattanam (an ancient port city of Muziris), about 30 kilometers from Kochi. “We have to understand the context,” he says.

The ring was discovered as the world battled the novel coronavirus. So, the small oval ring seal is sealed in the lock without much fanfare. Made of banded agate – a gemstone native to the Indian subcontinent – this finger ring was used as a seal to leave an impression on a document or sealing wax.

After two years of excavating materials, timelines, old cartographies and discussions with international historians and scholars, the former Director of the Kerala Council of Historical Research (KCHR) from PAMA She Sphinx Flying Over the Red Sea: Artifact, Author, Agency, and AudienceCo-authored with Padmanabhan of Queen’s University and Siddhartha Saha of Visva Bharati University at the recent Red Sea Project X conference in Crete (July 2022).

Professor Steven Sidebott, Director, Berenike Site, with PAMA Representative PJ Cherian at the Red Sea Conference X, 2022 in Crete | Photo credit: PAMA

Fresh data

“From 1000 BC. Between 100 BC and 400 AD, during the second period of urbanization of the Indian subcontinent, Pattana became a world hub connecting several port areas. In the last 20 years, new evidence has increased dramatically,” said Cherian, adding that the gem, among other finds, proves that Pattanam had a strong Greek connection. Muziris are mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman sources as well as in Sangam literature.

The ring seal was discovered at a depth of 115 cm in Trench No. 65 by student intern Pravita Pa. in the backyard of a local artist’s house named Sukumaran.

“There is evidence that people here work with many gemstones such as agate, amethyst, beryl, carnelian, chert, garnet, onyx, quartz and topaz. In the 66 excavations excavated at Pattanam, extensive lapidary remains such as raw materials, rough outs, fine flakes, semi-finished or discarded precious stone artifacts have been found.

The canal that created the Sphinx Intalion also had remnants of banded agate and other precious stones.

About 4.5 million pieces of Indian pottery and 1,41,348 pieces of non-Indian pottery have been found so far.

Sphinx Seal Ring | Photo credit: PAMA

Journey to Thebes

After his speech in Crete, Cherian traveled to Thebes, where the Sphinx came from. “Her home on Mount Citaron is a winged creature sent to Thebes to be devoured for failing to atone for an ancient crime,” says the most famous Oedipus story associated with her. The ring’s style of decoration and engraving suggests that it originated in the first and second centuries AD.

According to Cherian, the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar used a signet ring with a sphinx to sign documents early in his political career. He believes some seal rings may have traveled with their owners or as merchandise.

Evidence shows that goods such as teawood, precious stones, glass beads, spices and bamboo sticks were taken from Muziris to the Mediterranean, Cherian said, adding that he saw “tons and tons of coconut husks and bamboo mats” in Greece.

The most popular port for travelers to Muziris seems to be Berenice on the Red Sea coast of Egypt. Cherian quotes Dr. Steven Sidebottom, director of the Berenike excavations, who suggests that South Asians lived at Berenike.

In Pattanam, artisans use materials from India to create sculptures from foreign cultures. “The Sphinx was reborn after 2,000 years,” Cherian said. .

Artist’s impression of the Sphinx | Photo credit: PAMA

Three gems

The Sphinx Gem is the third intaglio found so far in Pattanam, the other two being intaglios – seal rings – of a lion that thrusts (2010) and Tyche or Fortuna, (2014) the Greco-Roman goddess of good fortune. All three gems represent less than 1% of the Pattanam archaeological mound in the northern sector of 70 hectares.