Brief contemporary accounts were recorded by the Greek Siculus (first century B.C) and Roman historian, Pliny, in A.D.77. The latter refers to the country of the Nairs, which has been interpreted to mean the area beyond Mt. Abu, i.e., the old Hyderabad and Mysore State areas, but it could also mean the Wynad area (Ziauddin and Narayanswamy, 1974, p.3). It does, however, confirm the existence of a well-established gold mining industry in the early Christian era. References in literature to the Gupta period (A.D. 320-500) indicate that the industry was then in decline.

It is surmised that the industry ceased in a relatively short time afterwards, perhaps due to the break-up of slavery as a social institution (Allchin, 1973). Details of the ancient mining industry at Hutti
have been drawn from the work of Allchin (1962) who visited Hutti in the year 1957. The information collected by the mining company was all made available to him at the time of his visit.
The quantity of gold produced during the ancient period cannot be assessed. But the size and number of old workings indicate that it must have been of considerable volume and value. The fact that the fame, or reputation, or knowledge of the industry had reached Rome, the then center of the known world, indicates that it must have been of considerable importance and extent.