Thank you to the Archaeological Survey of India for highlighting this important and often overlooked dimension of India’s heritage.
India’s maritime heritage is not only preserved in old port towns, inscriptions and ancient texts. A part of India’s history lies beneath the sea itself.
The underwater remains associated with Dwarka have attracted archaeological investigation for decades, with submerged structural remains and numerous stone anchors contributing to our understanding of the site’s maritime past. UNESCO’s Silk Roads programme notes that the interpretation and dating of these remains continue to be subjects of archaeological discussion.
But Dwarka is only one part of a much larger story.
India’s ancient relationship with the sea can also be understood through sites such as Lothal and Arikamedu, ancient trading centres that reveal connections between the Indian subcontinent and wider maritime networks. Arikamedu, for example, has yielded Mediterranean pottery, amphorae and inscriptions in several languages, providing remarkable evidence of Indo-Roman trade.
This makes underwater cultural heritage particularly valuable.
Shipwrecks, anchors, submerged structures, harbour remains and objects recovered from the seabed can reveal something that monuments on land sometimes cannot: how people travelled, traded, exchanged ideas and connected distant civilisations.
And India’s coastline gives us an extraordinary canvas for this research—from Gujarat and Maharashtra to Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and the eastern coast.
The Archaeological Survey of India itself has an Underwater Archaeology Wing, demonstrating that underwater archaeology is now an established part of India’s archaeological research and conservation framework.
I believe this heritage deserves much greater public attention.
India’s maritime story should not be told only through the lens of modern ports and shipping. It should also tell the story of ancient sailors, ports, shipbuilding, navigation, coastal communities and India’s connections with Africa, Arabia, Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean world.
There is enormous potential here for research, conservation, museums, education and carefully managed heritage tourism.
Perhaps one day, India’s coastal heritage destinations could offer visitors underwater archaeology interpretation centres, maritime museums, reconstructed ancient vessels, digital underwater experiences and heritage trails connecting ancient ports with the communities that live there today.
Our museums preserve what survived on land.
Our seas may still hold chapters waiting to be read.
Protecting India’s underwater cultural heritage is therefore not merely about preserving objects beneath the waves.
It is about recovering the memory of a civilisation that has been connected to the sea for thousands of years. 🇮🇳🌊