Though there is some controversy, scholars have generally agreed that present-day Tamluk is the site of the ancient city variously known as Tamralipta or Tamralipti, where Hien Chang, a Chinese traveller, visited the town, is now located on the banks of Rupnarayan River, close to the Bay of Bengal.

The Bay of Bengal and these great rivers with their numerous branches created a prosperous and easy water navigational system fostering commerce, culture and early contacts with the people outside the region.

[12][13][5][14] Several archaeological find sites have been found in Tamluk, including a number of high mounds in the town as well as in and around various tanks.

At another high mound, this one by the Rupnarayan riverbank, a hoard of about 350 coins dated to the 1st-2nd centuries BCE was found by K. N. Dikshit in the early 1920s.

[5]: 230–2 Just east of the Rajbari in central Tamluk is a large square tank called Khātpukūr, which probably dates from the 15th century.

Either way, their presence indicates long-distance cultural contact due to maritime trade, as would be expected at a major port like Tāmraliptī.

At another site, "an oblong tank next to the local school", old brick walls and terracotta fragments were found under Gurusday Dutt.