A shipwreck, 1000 years old has been “found in Kerala”:http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0401/newsbriefs/boat
bq. More than 1,000 years old, the 72-foot-long sailing barge is made from caramel-colored anjili, a hardwood still growing nearby, but it lacks the sewn-plank construction common in India for the past 2,000 years.
bq. Though its uniqueness has led to speculation that foreign seafarers built the ship from local materials for ocean-bound voyages, Pederson says the boat’s construction would keep it closer to home. With a flat bottom and sharp transitions to the sides, “it’s bad for the ocean,” he says. “It’s better for short coastal runs and inland waters.”
In 1000 AD, Mahmud of Ghazni was making his invasions into North India performing his God given duty of removing idolatry. From 800-1100, Kerala was under the Chera Kingdom and the Kulashekshara Perumals ruled.
Kerala had trade contats with all countries from China to Palestine even before Christ. During those times boats without masts or rudder were very popular and were being rowed along the sea coast with 6 or 8 oarsmen. These boats were used to transport goods between coastal towns. According to V. Balakrishnan in his book “History of Syrian Christians of India”:http://www.mergingcurrents.com/book.php?BookSKU=979
bq. The spices, including pepper were transported from Kerala to the port of Broach in Gujarat, which was at that time the busiest port in the West Coast. From there goods were transported in much bigger ships either to ports situated at the end of the Persian Gulf, or after going around Arabia, to the ports situated at the end of Acquaba or the Suez, depending on the ultimate point of destination.
The information about this ship is very limited at this moment. We will keep track of the developments.

A “900 year old ship”:http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_831662.htmlhas been found in a rice field in Kerala
bq. The ship is made of local Indian wood but the craftsmanship is not, leading experts to suggest it was made by ancient Chinese, Japanese, Egyptians or Arabs.
bq. After carbon-dating tests on the ship’s wood, a local variety called Anjili, Gopi said: “We believe the ship to be approximately 920 years old. But the techniques used in making this vessel are definitely not Indian.”
But how come the experts cannot say if it is Chinese, or Japanese or Egyptian or Arabian ? Do all of them have the same style of ships ?

Dr. Subhash Kak has started a new column in Rediff. In his first article, “India’s schoolbook histories”:http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/22kak.htm he writes about the Kerala school of Mathematics
bq. The astronomers Aryabhata and Bhaskara may be familiar to some from the eponymous spacecrafts of the Indian Space Organization. Aryabhata (500 AD) took the earth to spin on its axis and he described the planet periods with reference to the sun. He also took the solar system to be several hundred million miles across. In all of these things he was ahead of the rest of the world by more than a thousand years. Bhaskara (12th century) was a brilliant mathematician. The last two names belong to the amazing Kerala school of mathematics and astronomy.
There is more
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