More Signs of India - Rome Trade

[Jens Nordlunde]

It is interesting indeed, but there are many things not much known, which are interesting.

In the very early centuries, maybe even before BC, the Indians had big vessels, with which they sailed east and colonized part of Vietnam, and quite a number of other places, but they also sailed west, and had contact with Africa, where they got ivory and slaves. They also had contact with the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and Italy. These big vessels seem to have stopped about the time the Europeans got to India.

It is however known, that the Indians also exported tons of wootz ingots, and one of the Greek philosophers, maybe Plinius, said, ‘there is no need, when cutting meat, to use a knife of Indian steel’.

When it comes to the compass the Indians are known to have had a hollow fish of magnetic steel swimming on oil, which they used for a compass.