| Abstract: |
The main aim of this paper is to show how new archaeological and epigraphical evidence obtained from the exploratory program on the organization of maritime trade connected with the ancient ports on the western and southern coasts of Sri Lanka, launched by the French Mission of Archaeological Co-operation in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka, throw much light on cultural and commercial relationships between South India and Sri Lanka. Recent discoveries in Tamilnadu of Sinhala Prakrit inscriptions on pottery from the port cities of Arikamedu, Alagankulam and Kaverippumpattinam on the east coast and, further inland, at Kodumanal, provide evidence for the presence of Sinhalese traders in Tamilnadu in the same period when Tamil traders were active at Anuradhapura and Tissamaharama in Sri Lanka. The new discoveries add to the growing body of evidence attesting to the close cultural, social, religious and commercial intercourse between Sri Lanka and Tamilnadu in the early Historical Period.
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