The Hindu April 8th www.thehindu.com/2010/04/08/stories/2010040856602200.htm Indus like inscriptions have been found on South Indian pottery from Thailand (dated between the 2nd century BC and the 3rd century AD) long after the demise of the Indus civilisation.
At www.flonnet.com/stories/20100423270806400.htm the Ptolemies and Romans established the port of Berenike on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, which thrived between the 3rd cent BC and the 6th cent AD being a key transit port between Egypt (and Rome) on the one side and the Red Sea-Indian Ocean region on the other (South Arabia, East Africa, Sri Lanka and Kerala etc). Roman roads connected the port to the Nile where the goods were transferred onto river boats. It was a major trade route and in the 2nd century BC Egyptians and Romans were sailing the monsoon winds across the Indian Ocean to the Malabar Coast. In the early to med 6th century AD the harbour at Berenike seems to have silted up – and for various reasons not understood it was abandoned.