Trade means swapping goods you have in plenty for goods you lack. About 4,000 years ago, people of the Indus region did this across open sea.
Their boats sailed from the Gujarat coast towards the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. This lesson follows the goods, the port that sent them, and the clues that prove the link.
- Lothal: a Harappan port town in Gujarat, about 80 km south-west of Ahmedabad.
- Dock: a brick-walled basin about 219 × 37 metres, with an inlet and a water gate for ships.
- Sent out: beads of carnelian (a hard orange-red stone), agate, jasper and other stones.
- Three far names: Dilmun is probably Bahrain, Magan is perhaps Oman, and Meluhha is possibly the Harappan region.
- Proof of cargo: 75 clay sealings from Lothal carry seal prints on one side and string marks on the other.
Two Worlds Joined by the Sea
Which far places did old texts name?
Mesopotamian texts mention contact with three regions: Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha.
Dilmun is probably the island of Bahrain. Magan is perhaps Oman, from where copper came. Meluhha is possibly the Harappan region.
So the texts never say “Indus”. Scholars match old names to real places. The match for Meluhha is likely, but not certain.
Sources (card 0): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
How do we know the goods went by sea?
The texts call Meluhha a land of seafarers. It is likely that contact with Oman, Bahrain or Mesopotamia was by sea.
The finds fit this idea. Harappan seals, weights, dice and beads turn up in the region. A clay model of a boat from Lothal has a sharp keel and a place for a mast.
Sources (card 1): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12) · Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations.
Show the answer
Lothal stood near carnelian from Bharuch, steatite from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat, and metal from Rajasthan. Raw material nearby plus a harbour made it a natural export town.
Lothal: A Port with Water Gates
Where is Lothal, and who dug it?
Lothal lies about 80 km south-west of Ahmedabad, in Gujarat. The Archaeological Survey of India dug the site from 13 February 1955 to 19 May 1960.
The town stood near carnelian from Bharuch in Gujarat, steatite from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat, and metal from Rajasthan.
Sources (card 2): Gujarat Tourism, Lothal page · NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
How big was the dock?
The builders dug a basin measuring about 219 × 37 metres. They then enclosed it with walls of kiln-burnt bricks, about a metre high.
Baked brick matters here. Moving water eats away mud walls. The builders planned against erosion and thrust.
Sources (card 3): Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations.
How did the water gate work?
An inlet nearly 13 metres wide in the northern embankment let ships in at high tide.
On the southern side, a spillway had sluice gates. A sluice gate is a sliding door that controls the flow of water. These gates kept the boats afloat at low water.
So the dock held water much like a modern canal lock.
Sources (card 4): Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations.
What proves boats really used it?
The excavator estimated that several ships of about 60 tonnes could be berthed in the dock. Port-holes in the embankment walls and anchor-stones in the basin show that boats were moored there.
The excavator called it the earliest evidence of an artificial dock built by Bronze Age people. Tourism pages describe it as the world’s oldest known artificial dock.
Sources (card 5): Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations · Gujarat Tourism, Lothal page.
Check 1
Ships entered the Lothal dock through an inlet in the northern embankment at high tide.
What was kept beside the dock?
A warehouse of 48.5 × 42.5 metres stood on a 3.5-metre podium of mud-bricks. Some scholars have called it a granary.
In that building, 75 clay sealings were found. One side holds the print of an Indus seal. The other holds marks of matting, cloth and string.
This was the first clear proof that Indus seals were used to seal packages.
Sources (card 6): Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations.
What happened to the dock?
Around 2000 BCE a great flood damaged the dock. The river itself changed its course.
The people did not give up. They cut a channel from the river to the dock and made a new inlet in the eastern embankment.
Sources (card 7): Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations.
Check 2
The Lothal basin was only a pond for storing drinking water.
What Went Out and What Came In
What did Lothal send out?
Beads of carnelian, agate, jasper, opal, crystal and steatite were exported from Lothal to Sumerian cities. Specialised stone drills for making beads were found at Chanhudaro, Lothal and Dholavira.
Carnelian is a hard orange-red stone. Craft workers at such towns turned it into beads for distant buyers.
Sources (card 8): Yojana, July 1965 (Publications Division), S.R. Rao on the Lothal excavations · NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
What did the old texts list?
Mesopotamian texts credit Meluhha with carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold and several kinds of wood.
Copper came from a region called Magan, perhaps Oman. Each side gave what it could make or find best.
Sources (card 9): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
| Name in the texts | Likely place | Linked with |
|---|---|---|
| Dilmun | Probably Bahrain | Weights that followed the Harappan standard |
| Magan | Perhaps Oman | Copper |
| Meluhha | Possibly the Harappan region | Carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold, wood |
What shows the two sides were close?
Local weights at Dilmun followed the Harappan standard. So the two sides shared a way of measuring, not just goods.
The round Persian Gulf seal found in Bahrain sometimes carries Harappan motifs. A Mesopotamian cylinder seal shows a humped bull that appears to come from the Indus region.
Sources (card 10): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Check 3
Meluhha is proven beyond doubt to be the Harappan region.
Show the answer
A bead can pass through many hands by chance. A copied weight standard suggests that local traders used Harappan units, so they dealt with Harappan merchants often.
What the Written Texts Say
What does a Sumerian poem say?
A Sumerian poem about the city of Agade says that the Meluhans, “the people of the black land”, brought exotic wares to the city.
The same poem says the harbour where ships moored was full of joy. It places the tale in the time of King Naram-Suen.
Sources (card 11): Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (Oxford), The Cursing of Agade · NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
How can the three names be mixed up?
All three names appear in one sentence of NCERT, so students blur them.
Make a small chain. Mesopotamia is the buyer, Dilmun and Magan are the stops, and Meluhha is the far land of the Harappans.
Sources (card 12): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Exam trap
Do not write that Meluhha is certainly the Indus Valley. The books say “possibly the Harappan region”.
Also do not swap Dilmun and Magan. Dilmun is probably Bahrain, and Magan is perhaps Oman.
Lothal Today
What is being built at Lothal now?
A National Maritime Heritage Complex is being built at Lothal on about 400 acres, under the Sagarmala scheme.
The official project cost in 2022 was ₹3,500 crore.
By 11 September 2026, Phase 1A was about 82 per cent complete. The revised target is 31 October 2026. Thirteen countries have signed MoUs, and 1,492 artefacts are ready.
Sources (card 13): PIB, 18 Oct 2022, National Maritime Heritage Complex · PIB, 11 Sep 2026, National Maritime Heritage Complex.
Quick Q&A
- Lothal dock size? About 219 × 37 metres.
- Inlet width? Nearly 13 metres.
- Ship size? About 60 tonnes.
- Clay sealings found? 75.
- Dilmun is probably? Bahrain.
- Magan is perhaps? Oman.
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