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.