Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c20.s14.t9.8

c20.s14.t9.8

Excavations in a Roman settlement at this ancient port on the Red Sea coast of Egypt brought to light two inscribed sherds in Tamil written in the Tamil-Brāhmī script.¹ The inscriptions read ***ka ṇa ṉa*** (***kaṇṇaṉ***) and ***cā ta ṉa*** (***cāttaṉ***). The occurrence of the Tamil nominal ending *-aṉ* in the personal names leaves no doubt about the identification of the language and the script. The inscriptions may be dated to ca. 1st century A.D. on palaeographic evidence.² It is significant that both the personal names are also found in pottery inscriptions of the same period from Arikamedu.³ An ostrakon inscription was earlier found at this site on the surface.⁴ The inscription is in Prakrit written in the Southern Brāhmī characters of ca. 2nd-3rd centuries A.D.