382 Remarks on some lately-discovered Roman Gold Coins. [No. 5. 



Roman Geographers in respect to this country and its former commer- 

 cial transactions, but I cannot help thinking that the diligent research 

 of the antiquarian scholar would be amply rewarded by a more close 

 investigation of the subject of the connexion of the Romans with the 

 countries of the East. The trade by Egypt and the Red sea was 

 carried on with the nations of Europe until the discovery of the Cape 

 of Good Hope by the Portuguese, for upwards of fifteen hundred years : 

 — Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Persians and Arabians all successfully 

 enjoyed and participated in the benefits of that route for the purposes 

 of traffic. At length the transport of goods became diverted to ano- 

 ther channel by a more tedious but perhaps in many respects a more 

 advantageous passage, and it is not unworthy of reflection to consider 

 the probability of a return to the first and earliest passage by the Red 

 sea — which would appear destined after nearly four centuries have 

 elapsed, to be adopted once more as the line of communication between 

 the distant countries of the East and the European world. 



Translation of a native letter descriptive of the locality and first 

 discovery of the Coins. 



Tellicherry, December \6th, 1850. 

 " Agreeably to my last note, I now beg to furnish you with the in- 

 formation of the discovery of gold coins here. About three years ago 

 certain Syrians residing at Keelaloor Dashom in Palashy Amsham of 

 the Cotiacum talook were in the habit of collecting gold from the bed 

 of the river Vaniencudavoo (by taking the sand and sifting it), which 

 was between Keelaloor Dashom and Vengador. One day whilst they 

 were engaged in digging the bed of the river a number of gold coins 

 was found in a part where there was a mixture of sand and mud. 

 These were lying buried in the ground but not in a vessel. A great 

 quantity was taken but nobody knows how many. Some suppose that 

 these might have been buried here in bags, which have been destroyed. 

 At a distance of ten koles east of this, there is a garden belonging to 

 a Maplay in which are situated a small shop and two houses belonging 

 to some low caste people who always reside there. During the hot 

 season there is water to a man's depth whilst in the Monsoon there is 

 depth equal to four or five men. The stream runs through one side 

 of the dry bed of the river, whilst the other is so filled up with sand 



