The Past

20,000 - 2,000 years ago
Meluhha
















Meluhha is a geographical name found in Sumerian texts from Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia) which is linked, particularly, with exotic goods such as carnelian and ivory. For this reason, and the high probability that it lay to the east of Magan, Meluhha has generally been identified by scholars with the Harappan civilisation which flourished in the Indus Valley c. 2500-1900 BC Gujarat, in particular, was always one of the most important carnelian sources in the ancient world, while ivory in Mesopotamia was generally of eastern origin and only in the later periods did any from Africa (Egypt) reach the Tigris-Euphrates region.

Just as hundreds of thousands of Indians and Pakistanis have, since the Middle Ages, lived and traded in the Gulf region, so too does it seem that people from the Indus Valley, perhaps the ancient inhabitants of Meluhha, traded with and even settled in Magan. Pottery typical of the Indus Valley, some of it with incised signs in the Harappan script; polished cubical chert weights; carnelian beads; and a bronze stamp seal of Harappan type have all been found on sites in the region, such as Ras al-Jins, Shimal, Tell Abraq and Asimah.


Return to A Walk Through Time - Main Index