Saar and its external relations: new evidence for interaction between Bahrain and Gujarat during the early second millennium BC

Abstract

The ceramics from the Early Dilmun site of Saar, Bahrain, are examined for evidence of interregional exchange. The commonest variety of imported material comprises Late Sorath Harappan pottery from Saurashtra, Gujarat. Small quantities of Mesopotamian, Southeast Arabian (Wadi Suq) and possible Indo- Iranian pottery are also present. The evidence is correlated with that from Qala’at al-Bahrain, and data from other regions within the Bronze Age trading network of the early second millennium BC. On the basis of the ceramic evidence and information from other artefact classes and sites in Southeast Arabia and Gujarat, it is inferred that Bahrain and Saurashtra partook in a close exchange partnership during the Qala’at al-Bahrain City II period.