An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18.t3.45

v1.c9.s18.t3.45

Phase III: During the early centuries of the Christian era a spurt of structural activity backed by prosperous trade and political stability was witnessed under the Sātavāhana rule. The city of Dhānyakaṭaka rose to be the e. capital. Excavated evidence from DHARANIKOTA reveals that the town was expanded and the fortifications and wharf strengthened. It became a flourishing centre of Indo-Roman trade on the e. coast humming with merchants in the town and Buddhist monks at the adjacent Buddhist establishment. The profuse occurrence of the Rouletted Ware [11.21], amphorae [11.19] and the Arretine Ware [11.20], Roman glass and gold coins from AMARAVATI, DHARANIKOTA and various sites in coastal Andhra, right from MUKHALINGAM, Dt Srikakulam, to Ghantasala, Dt Krishna, speak of the extensive trade and religious contacts. Sātavāhana coinage in copper and lead from the time of Gautamīputra is abundantly rich in types. Sculptural art, mostly Buddhist, was patronized on a large scale. Several *stūpas* were raised and beautified with relief sculptures, marking the emergence of the Amaravati school. From Chandavaram, Dt Prakasam, to SALIHUNDAM, Dt Srikakulam, scores of monastic establishments came up and flourished till a couple of centuries later (middle of the 5th century). The dating of this phase to the early decades of the 1st century A.D. is based on the Rouletted Ware at such sites as KESARAPALLE, DHARANIKOTA, AMARAVATI and Jami. At SALIHUNDAM, however, this ware, profuse in quantity, has inscribed labels of an earlier date. But at the extensively excavated historical sites at NAGARJUNAKONDA the Rouletted Ware is conspicuously absent even in Sātavāhana horizons, not to speak of the succeeding Ikṣvāku levels. This shows that by the end of the 1st century A.D. the ware had lost its currency, though Roman gold coins continued to be valuable even as ornaments.