Indus Valley links unearthed in Qatar

By K T Chacko

A BURIAL site of traders
from the Indus Valley, estimated to be 5,000 years old, has been found
on the north-west coast of Qatar, strengthening the theories of
commercial exchange between the ancient peoples of the Middle East and
the subcontinent, according to Qatari explorer and fossil collector,
Mohamed Ali al-Sulaiti.
Based on the materials found
at a graveyard at Al-Ruwaida, located a few kilometres to the west of
Ruwais, al-Sulaiti said the colony belonged to people of the Indus
Valley civilisation, which flourished around 3,000 BC.
“These people
mostly traded in brass. They also brought in porcelain objects,
probably procured from China, for selling in the Gulf countries
including Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Abu Dhabi,” al-Sulaiti, also an
amateur archaeologist, told Gulf Times in an exclusive interview.
“They
mined copper ore for making the brass from the Buraimi mountains in
Oman and probably smelted it in Qatar,” said al-Sulaiti, who has found
many fragments of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, at Al-Ruwaida.
“Though
the graveyard at Al-Ruwaida gets submerged during high tides and thus
much of the remains could have been washed away, we can still piece
together some aspects of their life and culture,” he said.
One of the startling discoveries at the site was a small brazen pot with a smaller porcelain vase inside containing a molar.
“The
tooth could have belonged to a chieftain or a high priest,” al-Sulaiti
reasoned. “It is known that the people of that period saved such relics
of important people like kings and religious leaders.”
Also found at
the burial site was rice, which has been carbonised with the passing of
time. “People used to bury food items along with the bodies of their
dear ones during that period,” said al-Sulaiti, who is a US-educated
engineer.
According to al-Sulaiti, the Gulf region is dotted with
the remnants of the settlements of the people from the Indus Valley
civilisation period. He particularly mentioned findings in Mannar in
Abu Dhabi and some places in Kuwait.
Another important find at
Al-Ruwaida was glass bangles, inlaid with lacquer paintings and parts
of necklaces and shells used as ornaments by the ancient visitors.
“These decorative items were similar in style and materials used by the
inhabitants of the Indus Valley during their heydays,” he said.
Talking
about the Indus Valley connection, al-Sulaiti said the “ox” figured
prominently on the shards of pottery and coins recovered from the
Qatari site. “We also found needles made of brass in one of the
graves.”
The Indus Valley civilisation was based at Mohenjodaro in Sindh and Harappa in Punjab in Pakistan.
For
the Indus Valley people, the Arabian Sea opened the doors for journey
beyond the Arabian world through the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea right
into the ancient civilisation of Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is these
voyages that gave to the Indus land its earliest name of Meluhha
(sailor country) in the Babylonian records.
According to historians,
the Indus Valley civilisation had close bonds of culture and trade with
the Gulf countries. Archaeologists have found the remnants of a
“Meluhhan” village in ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq).
The
Indus Valley people traded seals, painted pottery and lapis lazuli in
exchange for copper and tin and several other items from Oman and the
Gulf states.
The Baloch and Sindh ports also carried out extensive
trade with African ports in Ethiopia, Somalia, Zanzibar, Kenya and
Tanzania.
Al-Sulaiti said extensive excavations and research would
lead to more definite information on these traders who established
temporary settlements as encampments at certain points on their regular
routes.
He said he has also found sites of Roman settlements in the region, including Qatar.
“The
Romans had distinctive art and architecture and their colonies are easy
to identify. I have found remains of Roman settlements in Fuwairat,
Jassasiya and Umm Almah, all in the north of Qatar,” he added.

source::Gulf-Times

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