Page:Indian Shipping, a history of the sea-borne trade and maritime activity of the Indians from the earliest times.djvu/176

 refers to the pepper and ginger of India and the great demand for them in Rome, where they were bought by weight like gold and silver. Besides aromatics and spices, the articles for which there was a great inquiry in Roman markets were precious stones, pearls, and minerals, which have been carefully noticed and described by Pliny with a skill rivalling that of a modern lapidary. The most highly prized of these stones was the beryl, found in India in only one place, namely Padiyur in the Coimbatore district, or at most in two, Vaniyambadi in the Salem district being said to also possess a mine; and these beryls were believed to be the best and purest in the world. And it is in the neighbourhood of these mines that the largest number of Roman coins has been found. Thirdly, the demand