The city of Madras that is Chennai may have a documented history only from 1639, but there is no denying that this coast was familiar to trading civilisations of the ancient world. The 1st Century CE work Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, lists several ports of India, and among these, a few are on the Coromandel Coast as well. Scholars have tried identifying these with modern towns, but most are disputed. What it does establish is that this part of India was part of an international trade route.
Tiruvottriyur, Mayilai, and Tiruvallikeni were definitely hamlets in existence from ancient times, and the antiquity of Mamallapuram is established beyond doubt, also that it was an ancient harbour. It is very likely that it was the largest among a chain of ports along the coast, and the others mentioned above were smaller fishing harbours that played a role in trade. In this context, it is interesting to see what Bhakti poetry composed in this region has to say.
