Arikamedu and Oc-eo
This short note by Roland Braddell, published in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (Vol. 24, No. 3, 1951, pp. 154–157), addresses the identification of the ancient port Oc-èo — named in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea — with the archaeological site of Arikamedu on the Coromandel Coast of India.
Summary
Braddell’s note engages with the long-standing question of whether the Greek toponym Oc-èo (or Oc-eo) corresponds to Arikamedu, a site known from excavations that revealed evidence of Roman trade contacts. The piece is a brief contribution to the debate on ancient Indian Ocean port identifications, drawing on both the textual evidence of the Periplus and the archaeological record at Arikamedu. As a four-page note, it is a focused intervention rather than a comprehensive study, consistent with the format of short communications in the JMBRAS of this period.