With reference to the period of Gupta dynasty in ancient India, the towns Ghantasala, Kadura and Chaul were well known as
1. ports handling foreign trade
2. capitals of powerful kingdoms
3. places of exquisite stone art and architecture
4. important Buddhist pilgrimage centres

The correct answer is ports handling foreign trade.

• The wealth of the Roman Empire reached India through the ports of Kalyan, Chaul, Broach, and Cambay in Western India.
  • Chaul was one of the ports in the Gupta dynasty.
• In the Andhra region, the ports were Kadura and Ghantasala, Kaveripattanam (Puhar) and Tondail were the ports of the Pandya region.
• Hence the correct answer is ports handling foreign trade.

• Merchants thronging sea-port towns like Mamallapuram engaged in loading and unloading vessels in the harbor.
• Important ancient ports Arikamedu, Bharuch, Calicut, Lothal, Muziris, Poompuhar, Tuticorin Port.
• The ports of Kottayam and Muziris were on the Malabar coast. 
• There was a great maritime trade between India and Southeast Asia and China.
• Tamralipti was an important port in Bengal. It carried on trade with China, Lanka, Java, and Sumatra.

• In India, evidence of shipbuilding, port, and warehouse installations are datable to Harappan culture.
• The important Harappan and late Harappan ports were Lothal, Lakhabawal, Kindarkhera, Kuntasi, Megham, Prabhasa, Todio, Amra.
• The excavations of these sites have yielded antiquities of Bahrain island, Persian Gulf, Egypt, and Mesopotamia cities.
• The same maritime traditions continued even during the lifetime of Buddha, the Mauryas, the Gupta, and in the later periods.
• During the historical period, India had trade and cultural contacts with Egypt, Rome, Greeks, Arabs, China, and most all Southeast Asian countries. through these ports.