Ariyankuppam
Ariyankuppam is a Town, Commune, Sub-Taluk, and Assembly Constituency in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. The streets in Ariyankuppam are straight and in grid form, similar to Puducherry boulevard.
Origin of name
The name Ariyankuppam comes from Aricamedu, an archaeological site in Ariyankuppam. Ariyankuppam is also known as Ariyanagar or Ariankuppam.History
Ariyankuppam was an ancient Indian fishing village which was formerly a major port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders. Now Ariyankuppam is administrated as a town under Puducherry Union Territory of IndiaDemographics
India census, Ariyankuppam had a population of 47,021. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Ariyankuppam has an average literacy rate of 81.49%, male literacy is 88.89%, and female literacy is 74.13%. In Ariyankuppam, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.Geography
Ariyankuppam is located at 11.54° N 79.48°E. Ariyankuppam is 5 km. from Puducherry city. It is in between Puducherry and Cuddalore on NH-45A. One can reach Ariyankuppam by any local bus from Puducherry to Veerapattinam. Also you can catch any bus to Cuddalore, Bahoor or Madukarai from Puducherry running via Ariyankuppam.Place of interest
Arikamedu Archaeological Excavation
is an archaeological site located at a distance of 1 km from Ariyankuppam, where Mortimer Wheeler conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major port dedicated to bead making and trading with Roman traders. It flourished for centuries until the Romans left. Various Roman artifacts, such as a large number of amphorae bearing the mark of Roman potter schools VIBII, CAMURI and ITTA, have been found at the site, supporting the view on an ancient trade between Rome and the ancient Tamil country. An Archaeological Museum is also present.Veerampattinam Temple Car Festival
at Veerampattinam is the abode of Sakti and is the oldest temple in Ariyankuppam. It is located at a distance of 2.5 km from Ariyankuppam. The goddess at the sanctum sanctorum faces the sea while the seven deities face the north. The temple also houses Amman, Ganapathy and Murugan gods.A grand festival is celebrated every year for six continuous Fridays starting from the Tamil month of Aadi. Special importance is given to the fifth Friday of the six Fridays and this day is declared as public holiday by the Government of Puducherry. On this day, thousands of prigrims throng this holy place to celebrate the festival.
Right from the days of the French, it was a custom to invite the List of [lieutenant governors of Puducherry|Lt. Governor of Puducherry] to start the Temple car procession by pulling its long rope.