Indian Ocean trade connections: characterization and commercial routes of torpedo jars

Abstract

During the Classical Period (300 BC-400 AD), the Indian Ocean emerged as one of the largest hubs of ancient international trade. For a long period, these contacts were described from a Rome-centric point of view, looking at the connections between Rome and India. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the Roman-Indo connection was only one of the vast medium and short distance trade routes involving numerous regions and populations, exchanging goods and culture. Current archaeological investigations have demonstrated that several minor trade dynamics formed the primary connective tissue of the Indian Ocean. This study attempts to trace these mid-range connections by focusing on the transport of torpedo jars, recently found in several settlements throughout the Indian Ocean. Two archaeological sites were considered: Al Hamr al-Sharqiya 1 (Inqitat, southern Oman), and the port of Alagankulam (southern India). An analytical protocol based on thin sections analysis, SEM-EDS, XRD and GC/MS was applied to a selection of fragments from the two archaeological sites. The analytical investigation carried out on these vessels identified three different ceramic compositions, which distributed differently in the two sites, characterized by a black coating due to a similar bitumen source. The location of the production sites and comparative studies between these vessels and reference materials available in the literature enabled us to cast new light on the routes followed by the torpedo jars, from Mesopotamia to India and Oman.

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)

“…Results showed that all the bitumen samples originated from central/southern Iraq (Hit-Abu Jir), north-west of present-day Baghdad (Connan & Carter, 2007: 178). A similar result was obtained from recent research on sherds from bitumen-lined jars found in Inqitat/ Al Hamr al-Sharqiya 1 and Alagankulam, which concluded the bitumen had a probable Babylonian/southern Iraq source (Lischi et al, 2020: figs 5-7). Lastly, bitumen analyses were conducted by Thomas Van de Velde on samples from firstto second-century CE contexts from Ed-Dur, Dibba and Mleiha (Van de Velde, 2015: 107-112).…”

“…Finally, a group of pre-Sasanian bitumen-lined jars has been highlighted by a recent article comparing fragments of bitumen-lined/torpedo jars found in Inqitat/Al Hamr al-Sharqiya 1, southern Oman, and in Alagankulam, southern India (Lischi et al, 2020). Among the different groups analysed, the so-called Fabric B is characterised by a creamy colour and abundant vegetal temper, and is associated with first-second centuries CE archaeological contexts.…”

“…It seems then that the sherds from Inqitat/Al Hamr al-Sharqiya 1 and Alagankulam probably belong to the same production group as the previously described chaff-tempered ovoid jars found in the Gulf. Unfortunately, Lischi et al (2020) only refer to fragments and a profile comparison is not possible.…”

“…On the other hand, the later Sasanian and early Islamic torpedo jars are usually considered as wine containers (Tomber, 2008: 42;Priestman, 2013;Lischi et al, 2020). This hypothesis has been proposed by Tomber, who suggested that they could have corresponded to the Persian wine exports referred to by the Periplus Maris Erythraei.…”

“…10;Fulayj: al-Jahwari et al, 2018: 734, fig. 8/a-c;Khor Rori: Pavan, 2017: 208-211; Al Hamr al-Sharqiya 1: Lischi et al, 2020), in Yemen (Qani: Sedov, 2010: 246-247, fig. 104/1015 106/1040-1043), in Sri Lanka and India (Tomber, 2007(Tomber, , 2008Alagankulam: Lischi et al, 2020), and as far as South Asia (Thailand: Connan et al, 2020) and East Africa (Kenya: Chittick, 1984;Somalia: Smith & Wright, 1988: fig.…”