Indo-Qatar trade ties more than 5000 years old

Dubai, Mar 28 (UNI) The 5,000-year-old burial site discovered in Qatar supports the theories of strong ties between the ancient people of Indian subcontinent, Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula, a Qatari archaeologist has claimed.

Mohammad Ali Al Sulaiti said the discovery of the graveyard belonging to an Indus Valley civilisation on the north-western coast attests to the presence of vibrant merchants' colonies along the country's shores in ancient times.

The artefacts discovered prove that Qatar was inhabited by merchants of the Indus Valley and that they were very active in the production and trade of metals and porcelain, the Gulf News quoted him as saying.

The graveyard might be part of the many temporary settlements that the merchants of the Indus Valley used to establish along their trade routes, he added.

Fragments of brass, glass bangles inlaid with lacquer paintings and parts of necklaces and shells used as ornaments have been found from the site.

There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between Indus Valley people and the Mesopotamian people, through merchants from Dilmun, in Bahrain. Remnants of their settlements have been found in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait as well.

UNI XC SYU RS1659