11 · CONTACT · PERSIAN GULF

Meluhha

The Indus at Mesopotamia’s table

Seals, worked stones and texts document contacts between the Indus, Oman and Mesopotamia.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of The Indus at Mesopotamia’s table, Indus Valley, Gujarat, Oman and Mesopotamia, ca. 2600–1900 BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

Dholavira and other Indus centres participated in networks that reached Oman and Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamian texts appears Meluhha, a term habitually related to the Indus region.

The connection is potent precisely because it is not closed. Objects allow speaking of circulation and contact; reconstructing who sailed each voyage requires avoiding an overly clean map.

Mesopotamian texts place Meluhha alongside Dilmun and Magan in maritime networks. Harappan-tradition seals and beads offer independent material evidence.

A merchant could cross several ports or trade via intermediaries. That is why “contact” does not mean that each object travelled from Harappa in a single ship.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: UNESCO highlights Dholavira’s contacts with Mesopotamia and Oman; archaeology records exchange in the gulf. Interpretation and caution: The absolute equivalence of Meluhha with a unique Harappan state, or the nationality of each merchant, are not demonstrated. Expanded documentation: Cuneiform sources mention Meluhha and Indus-linked seals and products are known in the Gulf and Mesopotamia. Expanded interpretation and caution: The Meluhha–Indus civilisation equivalence is solid but does not delimit an exact frontier nor identify all its inhabitants.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: ca. 2600–1900 BCE
Location: Indus Valley, Gujarat, Oman and Mesopotamia
Material: Carnelian, shell, copper, seals and pottery
Context: Exchange networks
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Mesopotamian names: Meluhha, Dilmun and Magan
Indicators: Seals, carnelian, shell and texts
Documentary coverage: 4 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

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ca. 2600–1900 BCE

Meluhha

Indus civilisation

Long-term exchange networks, not the date of a single object.

Current record

Ornamental stones6 dated objects

1 / 6In the centre: 'Jamila's' necklace

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Shell and mother-of-pearl

Current object, without a comparable date: Meluhha.

'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
Worshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · Sumer
Royal Game of Ur · 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Statue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · Sumer
The Gallery of the Conch Shells · Main use c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Three hundred lives in the sand · Mainly 4th century BCE–3rd century CE · Yayoi Japan

Exchange and trade

Current object, without a comparable date: Meluhha.

Weights · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Before the Hittites · c. 19th century BCE · Hittites
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Motagua jade · c. 900–600 BCE · Maya worlds
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
The Gallery of the Conch Shells · Main use c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Mazarrón 1 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
Mazarrón 2 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
Ivory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · Phoenicians
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
Lead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Kilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
Akrotiri · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
Clicks and contact · precolonial contacts with varying chronologies and subsequent continuity · Bantu-speaking worlds
Dia’s strata · 9th century BCE–2nd millennium CE · Mande Worlds
Indian Ocean Kiswahili · from the first millennium CE; major development in medieval and modern times · Bantu-speaking worlds
Jenne-jeno contexts · ca. 250 BCE–1400 CE · Mande Worlds
Kumbi Saleh · medieval occupation; prominent phases between the 11th and 13th centuries · Mande Worlds
Lothal · ca. 2400–1600 BCE · Indus civilisation
Nile towards Nubia · ca. 3300–2800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes

Seals

Current object, without a comparable date: Meluhha.

Cylinder seal · c. 3500–3100 BCE · Sumer
Susa accounting bulla · 3500–2900 BCE · proto-urban period; towards 3300 BCE as a guide, not exact date · Sumer
Indus seals · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Rations for women and children · Towards 509–493 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Bamum document · 28 April 1922 · Bantu-speaking worlds

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Cooking pots also crossed the sea

The study by Méry and collaborators on Salūt ST1, in Oman, analyses Indus-tradition pottery dated approximately between 2400 and 2100 BCE. It includes jars, perforated vessels and footed plates, besides large jars with black slip. The forms linked to preparing and serving food point to more varied contacts than the exchange of ornaments. The jars could transport products and be reused, while other vessels allow investigation of everyday practices. Analysis of materials and manufacture helps distinguish imports from local interactions.

Research · Harappa · Méry et al., Indus potters in central OmanAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

REGIONAL AREA

Indus Valley, Gujarat, Oman and MesopotamiaPunjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Gujarat within an urban network. The footprint marks the indicative center of the area, not a border or an exact point.

Where it is held

The British Museum

Reference material evidence · Documented collection

Seal used as material evidence of contact; the card does not attribute the entire Meluhha network to this institution.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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Meluhha

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Meluhha

'Jamila's' necklace

Puabi headdress

Standard of Ur

Statue of Ebih-Il

Carnelian beads

Beads from Cerro de los Vientos

A closer look

Cooking pots also crossed the sea

Location and territory

Where it is held

The British Museum

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?