While researching the path of the building of a proposed high-speed railway known as HS2, archaeologists from the United Kingdom discovered an old Roman colony site.
Arikamedu is an archaeological site near Kakkayanthope, Ariyankuppam Commune, Puducherry, India. It lies 4 kilometers from the Indian territory of Puducherry's capital, Pondicherry.
Archaeological excavations were carried out there by Sir Mortimer Wheeler and Jean-Marie Casal. The location was identified as the port of Podouke. Amphorae, Arretine pottery, Roman lamps, glassware, glass and stone beads, and jewels have been discovered at the site. Based on these findings, Wheeler determined that the Arikamedu was a Greek trading center that dealt with Rome for nearly two hundred years, from the late first century BCE to the first and second centuries CE. Vimala Begley's further research from 1989 to 1992 changed this view, putting the era of habitation from the 2nd century BCE to the 8th century CE.
