Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c24.s1.t6.2

v1.c24.s1.t6.2

The Greeks were acquainted with the Bahrein pearls which have luster but yellow tints; to the foreigners the white pearls of India have always been much more covetable. During the Roman period the pearl trade was controlled by the Pāṇḍyas and the Colas. The Pāṇḍyas depended on Gulf of Manner and the fisheries at Kolkai, controlled from Madura, whereas the pearls sold at Argaru and Kaviripaddinam in the Cola kingdom came obviously from the Palk Strait. The best species of oysters known as (*Pinctada Vulgaris*) with beautiful silvery white colour flourishes in the Gulf of Manner. On the Ceylon side the oyster bank lies 68 miles off the Western coast.