[INDOLOGY] Spectacular finds

Wed Dec 3 04:58:55 UTC 2025

Just to say, we have been hearing a lot of very interesting things about
Berenike here in Delhi in recent months, from both the writer William
Dalrymple (in his new book, *The Golden Road*) and art historian Naman
Ahuja (in various lectures and articles). All best, AV.

On Wed, Dec 3, 2025 at 3:07 AM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/indian-figurine-pompeii/
>
> Matthew T. Kapstein
> Professor emeritus
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris
>
> Associate
> The University of Chicago Divinity School
>
> Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
>
> https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein
>
> https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/
>
>
> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1
>
>
> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1
>
> https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949
>
> Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email.
>
> On Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 at 9:20 PM, Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> It reminds me the beautiful Indian sculpture found in Pompéi, seen last
> week in the MANNapoli.
>
> Envoyé à partir de Outlook pour iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
> ------------------------------
> *De :* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> de la part de
> Lavanya Vemsani via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Envoyé :* Tuesday, December 2, 2025 2:11:04 PM
> *À :* Indology List <INDOLOGY at list.indology.info>
> *Cc :* Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Objet :* Re: [INDOLOGY] Spectacular finds
>
> This indeed is remarkable. Thanks for sharing it. This helps understand
> Indo-Roman trade and the Egyptian role in depth.
> Thank you
> Lavanya
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Dec 2, 2025, at 6:22 AM, Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> 
> Thanks for sharing this, Jonathan,
>
> It is indeed spectacular. But in the light of all else we know of
> Egypt-India connections over the long term, it does fit in an established
> context and seems spectacular in part for the remarkable confirmation it
> offers of relations formed on the ancient routes joining India to ancient
> Baveru and beyond.
>
> Matthew
>
> Matthew T. Kapstein
> Professor emeritus
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris
>
> Associate
> The University of Chicago Divinity School
>
> Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
>
> https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein
>
> https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/
>
>
> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1
>
>
> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1
>
> https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949
>
> Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email.
>
> On Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 at 10:16 AM, Jonathan Silk via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> I would like to bring to your attention what I believe to be the first
> scientific publication of the results of recent research in Egypt. (Wait,
> don't stop reading!).
>
> Along with Egyptologists, our colleague Ingo Strauch has researched a find
> so remarkable that had it not been scienfitically excavated I think
> everyone --myself first of all--would have been certain it is fake.
>
> See now
>
> Steven E. Sidebotham, Rodney Ast, Marianne Bergmann, Shailendra Bhandare,
> Joanna K Rądkowska, Ingo Strauch, Szymon Popławski, Mariana Castro
>
> Indians in Roman Berenike
>
> Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 140, 2025, § 1–126
> https://doi.org/10.34780/n31wrw90
>
> the abstract:
>
> This paper discusses six Indian, for the most part locally produced
> artifacts excavated at Berenike, a Ptolemaic-Roman (third century B.C. –
> sixth century A.D.) Red Sea port in Egypt. The objects include a terracotta
> soldier, three stone Buddha statuettes, a stone stele with representations
> of Vrishni heroes, and a dedicatory stone inscription in Sanskrit and Greek
> from the sixth regnal year of the Roman emperor Philip the Arab (A.D. 248).
> These artifacts were recovered in 2001 and between 2018 and 2022.
> Excavations at Berenike began in 1994 and have documented thousands of
> artifacts and ecofacts that attest the port’s impressive commercial and
> cultural connections. Berenike was a critical link joining the wider
> Mediterranean basin with the north- western Indian Ocean. The provenance of
> recovered items ranges as far west as the Iberian Peninsula and
> northwestern Africa to as far east as the island of Java. Ongoing
> excavations have recorded numerous items from South Asia, especially from
> India. Those discussed here tie Berenike to India and present a highly
> unusual, in some cas- es unique insight into the Roman world’s connections
> with the Indian subcontinent.
>
> It is good to know that in these sometimes dark times we can now and then
> be amazed by surprising and glorious bursts of light.
>
> Jonathan
>
> --
> Prof. dr. J.A. Silk
> Professor in the study of Buddhism
> Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS
> Herta Mohr building 2.142
> Witte Singel 27A
> 2311 BG Leiden
> The Netherlands
>
> Guest Professor, PI of ERC-Project BEST
> Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
> Department für Asienstudien, Institut für Indologie und Tibetologie
> Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
> 80539 München
> Deutschland
>
> website: www.OpenPhilology.eu <http://www.openphilology.eu/>
> copies of my publications may be found at
> https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/JASilk
>
>
>
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-- 
*Ananya Vajpeyi*
https://www.csds.in/ananya_vajpeyi
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