Medieval Chinese jar found in south-eastern coastal India

A 12th century storage jar of Chinese manufacturing was discovered in a private house in Pandillapali, Prakasam district in western India. The owner claimed he discovered it in Motupally, Krishna district, where an international seaport existed since antiquity, visited even by Marco Polo in 1289. The Motupally seaport is known for trading with ancient Rome (1st-2nd cent. AD), and up to the medieval period (10th to 16th centuries AD).

Chinese jar found in Motupalli port (by Deccan Chronicle)
Chinese jar found in Motupalli port (by Deccan Chronicle)

The pottery jar measures 1.3 metres in height and 1.2 metres in diameter. It is orange in colour and has enamel on the neck and shoulder parts of the external surface and the whole internal surface. It is said to have been found on a mound behind the Veera-bhadra Swamy temple in Motupally. This discovery and a similar recent discovery of a 14th century jar in a a hamlet of Motupally called Rudramambapuram indicate the need to resume the archaeological investigation (abandoned in 1974) of the international seaport site.

(after Deccan Chronicle)

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