Table Of ContentBabylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus
ME:SOPOTAMIAN
QVILIZATIONS
General Editor
Jerrold S. Cooper, Johns Hopkins University
Editorial Board
Walter Farber, University of Chicago Jack Sasson, Vanderbilt University
Piotr Michalowski, University of Michigan Piotr Steinkeller, Harvard University
Simo Parpola, University of Helsinki Marten Stol, Free University of Amsterdam
Karen Radner, Ludwig�Maximilians Universität, Munich Irene Winter, Harvard University
1. TheL amentaotvieotrnh D ee strucotfSi uomnea rn dU r,by Piotr Michalowski
2. SchlKaifn,d chSecnh,l Maefs!o potamBiasbcyh,eß eschwöurnud,n Rgietnub ay lWeal,te r Farber
3. AdoptiinoO nl dB abyloNniipapnau nrd t hAer chiovfMe a nnum,me5u,bly Eil�iza�buetrh ,C . Stone and
David I. Owen
4. Third,MillLeengnaailnu dAm d ministTrexattisin tv hele r aMqu seumB,a ghdbayd P,io tr Steinkeller and J. N. Postgate
5. HausMeo sHti ghT:h eT empleosfA ncieMnets opotabmy Ai.a R,. G eorge
6. Textecsu linaMierseosp otam/ Mieesnosp otaCmuilainn Taerxyt sby, J ean Bottero
7. Legenodfts h Kei ngosfA kkadTeh:eT extsby, J oan Goodnick Westenholz
8. MesopotaCmoisamniG ce ograpbyh Wya,yn e Horowitz
9. TheW ritianntg h Wea llS:t udiinet shA er chiteCcotnutreaoxlfLt a tAes syrPiaalna Rceel ibeyf Josh,n M. Russell
10. Adapaan dt hSeo utWhi ndL:a nguaHgaest hPeo wero fL ifaen dD eatbhy, S hlomo lzre'el
11. Timea tE marT:h eC ultCiacl enadnadrt hRei tufarlostm h Dei vinAerrc'hsi bvy eD,an iel E. Fleming
12. Lettteort shK ei nogfM ariA: N ewT ranslatwiiotHnhi, s torIinctarlo duNcottieoasnn,,dC ommentary,
by Wolfgang Heimpel
13. BabyloOnriaacnQl uee stiboy nWsG,. Lambert
14. RoyaStl a tuoafrE ya rlDyy nasMteiseo pot,ab my iGaia nni Marchesi and N ico lo Marchetti
15. TheC orresponodfte hnKeci en gosfU r:A nE pistoHliasrtyoo rfay nA ncieMnets opotaKmiinagnd obym P,io tr Michalowski
16. BabyloCnrieaant Miyotnh bsy, W G. Lambert
17. LamastAun:E ditoifot nhC ea noniScearlio efLs a ma5Itnuc antaatnidRo intsu aanldRs e latTeexdtf sr otmh See coanndd
FirMsitl lenbn.icba„y Walter Farber
18. TheL amentaotvieotrnh D ee strucotfUi ro,bny Nili Samet
19. Theba bilili,RitfuraolHma ttu(sCaT H7 18), by Gary M. Beckman
20. AssyrTihaeI: m perMiiasls iboy nM,ar io Liverani
21. BabylotnhiGeau ,l Rfe gioann,dt hIen duAsr:c haeolaongdTi ecxatluE avli defnocCreo ntaicntt h Teh iradn dE arlSye cond
MillenBn.iCa„b y Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller
Babylonia, the Gulf Region,
and the Indus
Archaeologi,cal and Textual Evidence fo r Contact in the
Third and Early Second Millennia B.C.
Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller
Winona Lake, Indiana
EISEN BRAUNS
2017
© Copyright 201 7 Eisenbrauns
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
www.eisenbrauns.com
Library of Congress Cataloging.-in.-Publication Data
Names: Laursen, Steffen, author. 1 Steinkeller, Piotr, author.
Tide: Babylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus : archaeological and textual evidence for contact in the
third and early second millennia B.C. / Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller.
Description: Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2017. 1 Includes bibliographical references. 1 Description
based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017007318 (print) 1 LCCN 2017012647 (ebook) 1 ISBN 9781575067575 (ePDF) 1
ISBN 9781575067568 1 ISBN 9781575067568 (hardback) : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Iraq-Civilization-To 634. 1 lraq-Antiquities. 1 Babylonia-Civilization.
Classification: LCC DS69.5 (ebook) 1 LCC DS69.5 .L38 2017 (print) 1 DDC 935/.05-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017007318
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sci
ences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. §™
The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye
-J imi Hendrix
In fand memory of
Maurizio Tosi (1944-2017),
a colossus of Middle Asian archaeology and
a dear friend and colleague
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . ix
1. Introduction . . . . . . 1
Working Premise 3
Confronting and Combining Archaeology and Texts 3
Some Methodological Considerations 5
2. The Prehistoric Foundation (ca. 6000-2650 BC) . . 8
3. The Pre--Sargonic Period (ca. 2650-2350 BC) 15
Archaeology 15
Texts 21
4. The Sargonic Period (ca. 2350-2200 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Archaeology 24
Texts 30
5. Makkan and Tilmun between ca. 2200 and ca. 2100 BC . 40
6. The Ur III Period (ca. 2100-2000 BC) 47
Archaeology 4 7
Texts 53
The Role of Amorites in Tilmun and Makkan 60
7. The Post--Ur III Period (2000-1800 BC) 63
Archaeology 63
Texts 67
8. The Role of Gu'abba as Babylonia's Main Seaport and a
Major Textile Production Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
1. Gu'abba, the Seaport 71
2. Gu'abba, the Town 73
2.1. The Shipyard 74
2.2. The Caravanserai 7 5
2.3. The Weaving Establishment 75
Excursus: The Textile Industry at Ur 77
9. Contacts between Babylonia and Meluhha in the Late Third Millennium 79
1. A Meluhhan Settlement in Southern Babylonia? 79
2. Contacts between Babylonia and Meluhha 82
10. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
.
vii
viii Contents
Appendix 1. The Ur III and Isin Texts Bearing on the Gulf Trade . . . . . . . . . 92
Appendix 2. The Seaworthy Ships of Babylonia, the "Makkan Ships,"
and the Cylinder Seals of the "Big Ships" Personnel from Failaka and Bahrain 104
1. Big Ships and Big Ship Captains 104
2. Ships of Makkan 106
3. Boat Construction 107
4. The Cy linder Seals Owned by the Personnel of "Big Ships"
from Failaka and Bahrain 109
Appendix 3. The Babylonian Burial Jar in the Gulf Countries 113
Bibliographie Abbreviations 119
Bibliography . 119
Index . . . . 138
Preface
This book is the product of a collaborative effort that began, almost accidentally, in 2008. Follow,
ing many e,mail exchanges about various points related to the archaeology and history of the Persian
Gulf region during the third millennium BC, we concluded that, because of the great accumulation
of new data and the persistence of some misconceptions, there was a pressing need to produce an up,
to,date synthetic evaluation of this subject. Conceived originally as an article, this project gradually
expanded, eventually becoming a monograph.
The evidence bearing on the early Persian Gulf is enormous, and so the choice of data and top,
ics explored in this book is of necessity selective. Because of our mutual interests, we focus primarily
on the nature of cultural and commercial interactions that existed between Mesopotamia and the
cultures of Tilmun (Bahrain), Makkan (Oman Peninsula), and Meluhha (Indus Valley). Although
we reach back to the fourth millennium, the time,frame of our investigation is essentially the third
and early second millennia BC.
lt is our great pleasure to acknowledge the assistance this project received from various individu,
als and institutions. Laursen gives his special thanks to the Moesgaard Museum and its staff, who,
over a period of many years, have enthusiastically supported his excavations on Bahrain and offered
a perfect environment for his research. His work on this book was made possible by a grant from the
Danish Council for Independent Research / Culture and Communication. 1
We both offer our heartfelt thanks to Jim Eisenbraun for accepting our manuscript in his Meso,
potamian Civilizations series, and to Jerrold Cooper, for reading it exceedingly carefully and suggesting
many important improvements, both with regard to content and form. We also warmly acknowledge
the editorial help provided by Ryan Winters. While all this assistance was essential, only we are re,
sponsible for this book's final shape.
There is yet another, more personal side to this project. Both of our interests in the ancient his,
tory of the Persian Gulf in no small measure grew from the work and inspiration of our teachers:
Flemming H0jlund and A. Leo Oppenheim and I. J. Gelb, respectively. H0jlund has extensively
published and excavated in Bahrain and on Failaka Island, producing some of the fundamental stud,
ies on Gulf archaeology (see the bibliography below, pp. 119ff., esp. p. 126). Oppenheim and Gelb
2
wrote articles that were instrumental in putting Tilmun, Makkan, and Meluhha on the map. Our
<lebt to these three scholars is gratefully and affectionately acknowledged.
1. Project 0602�02482B "Collapse: The 'Eclipse of the East' and the Rise of Dilmun State in Bahrain, ca. 2000 BC."
2. "The Seafaring Merchants of Ur," Journal of the American Oriental Society (1 954) 6-17; "Makkan and Meluhha in Early
Mesopotamian Sources," Revue d'Assyriologi,e 64 (1970) 1-8.
ix
Preface
X
As we were correcting the proofs, the news of the untimely passing of Maurizio Tosi reached us.
More than any other scholar, Maurizio was responsible for the formulation of the concept of early
Middle Asia as a highly interconnected entity, a notion that is central to this book. In recognition
of Maurizio's enormous contributions to the history and archaeology of Middle Asia, and of the An-
cient Near East more generally, we dedicate these pages to his memory.
