I would be interested in this as well. The so-called Brāhmaṇatissa/Brāhmaṇatīya famine (bämiṇitiyā sāya) is supposed to have happened in the reign of Vaṭṭagāmaṇi, in the first century BCE, and it seems to have been the famine with the biggest imprint on Sri Lankan historical memory, to judge from later story collections. (As far as I know the Mahāvaṁsa doesn't mention it.)
I got a message from a colleague working on environmental geography in Egypt and East Asia about a monsoon failure. He says:
we're looking at a massive monsoon failure with a decadal impact- we clearly see it in Egypt and in East Asia. Our model makes it look like India, or other parts of the Indian Ocean, would have been a total disaster...would love to be able to see what historical/archaeological evidence might tell us.
I wonder whether anyone has information on this, and whether it might event be reflected in cultural remains, including texts.
Thanks.
Patrick
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