A lot of pepper and a little garum: an archaeological comparison of the Roman presence at Berenike and Arikamedu

This paper investigates, by means of comprehensively comparing two archaeological datasetsand related ancient textual sources, what differences and/or similarities can be observedabout the Roman presence and participation in trade exchanges at the ports of Berenike(Egypt) and Arikamedu (India) during the 1st–2nd centuries AD. These findings are thenused to raise new points of discussion concerning patterns of exchange and connectivityacross the Indian Ocean, and the role of Rome within these processes. Rather than offeringa basic comparison of two individual ports, this study takes a bottom-up approach toall currently available evidence from both sites, on which its wider interpretations aresubsequently based. Main interpretative aspects include the geography, infrastructureand economic contexts of the port sites, and a second point of focus pertains the possibleconnections between the archaeological materials of ancient Tamil provenance at both sites.