From ‘ovoid jars’ to ‘torpedo jars’: Investigations into bitumen‐lined transport containers in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean in antiquity (second century BCE–third century CE)

Abstract

Research into bitumen-lined 'torpedo jars', widely distributed throughout the Gulf and the Indian Ocean between the third and ninth centuries CE, has developed considerably in recent years, shedding new light on maritime trade connections during the Sasanian and early Islamic periods. Based on pottery finds from Failaka (Kuwait) and Thaj (Saudi Arabia), recently studied by the author, this article draws attention to an earlier type of bitumen-lined jar characterised by an ovoid profile and a greenish fabric, including vegetal temper. These ovoid jars, presumably of Mesopotamian origin, are commonly found on 'Classical'/pre-Sasanian sites located along the Gulf's shores, and their specific fabric has also been identified recently in Oman and southern India. They provide evidence for the existence of extensive Mesopotamian trade, probably in wine, with the Gulf region and more broadly with the Indian Ocean during the late Seleucid and Characenian periods.

Geochemical Analysis of Two Samples of Bitumen from Jars Discovered on Muhut and Masirah Islands (Oman)

“…There is a growing body of recently published research related to torpedo jars and the full details regarding their function, dating, provenance, and archaeological associations will be only briefly summarised here ( [1,[13][14][15]). The archaeological distribution of torpedo jar finds throughout the western Indian Ocean reinforces their evident association with maritime exchange activity.…”

“…Chronologically, torpedo jars represent a long-lived tradition that makes their archaeological interpretation somewhat problematic. It is evident that they emerge as a distinct category from a more ancient tradition of narrow-mouthed, bitumen-lined vessels with ovoid bodies that likely performed a similar function in the transportation of wine and circulated widely across the Gulf region during the later centuries BC/early centuries AD ( [15]). The precise point of transition from "ovoid jars" to recognisable "torpedo jars" requires further investigation.…”

Organic Residues in transport vessels from the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea: A Further Element to Understand Past Commercial Relations

“…Contacts among settlements on the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Indian Ocean coasts have been widely discussed in the archaeological community and archaeological records show evidence of the Roman control and in uence of trades in these regions. The Red Sea, East Africa, the Persian Gulf, Southern Arabia, and India were integrated in the net of the links between Rome and India, where connections to all the coasts of the Indian Ocean and beyond were established to support the trade of a wide range of commodities [9,[14][15][16][17].…”

“…Another material that was used to seal pottery porosity was bitumen, and fragments of vessels coated with this sealing material were often found in archaeological sites in Mesopotamia and in the Arabian Gulf [8,9,[16][17][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

Guest editors’ foreword

“…This Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy special issue provides a new insight into the history of Failaka and offers the opportunity to begin filling in some gaps, in particular concerning the geomorphology of the island (Arhan et al, 2021;Chagelishvili et al, 2021), the late Islamic period (Chkhvimiani et al, 2021;Almutairi, 2021;Pieńkowska & Truszkowski, 2021), long-distance trade (Mahfouz et al, 2021;Durand, 2021), and on pottery studies (Ashkanani & Kovár, 2021;Durand, 2021;Mierzejewska, 2021;Perrogon & Bonnéric, 2021). In parallel, many questions approached in theses articles still have to be solved.…”