Mesopotamian ceramics from the burial mounds of Bahrain, c.2250-1750 BC

A distinct two-phase pattern of Mesopotamian ceramic imports and local emulations, spanning c.2250–1750 BC, has been identified at the Dilmun burial mounds of Bahrain. The first phase, characterized by a specific vessel type exclusive to pre-Dilmun 'state' Early Type mounds, is linked to Mesopotamia's late third-millennium Magan trade network, serving as a key fossil directeur for this period. The second phase, found in compact cemeteries coinciding with Dilmun's peak, reflects the contracted Isin-Larsa network of Dilmun trade. This study reconstructs trade dynamics and political interactions between Mesopotamia and the 'Lower Sea' populations through ceramic distribution analysis.

Laursen, S. T. (2011). Mesopotamian ceramics from the burial mounds of Bahrain, c.2250-1750 BC. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 22(1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2011.00334.x