Harappan Jewelry Found in a Bronze-Age Omani Tomb

Harappan-style medallion with 8-pointed star

A bronze-age group tomb in the Dahwa region of Oman has yielded several pieces of silver jewelry with Harappan designs – indicating period trade between the Indus Valley people and the Umm al-Na culture which flourished in Oman from 2600-2000 BCE. The star medallion pictured above is one of the pieces recovered.  The site, which was excavated from 2013 – 2021, also produced remains of … Read more

Silk and the Early Silk Road

A recent article in the journal Archaeometry tells of a new discovery of ancient silk in Pakistan’s Indus Valley. The ornaments that contain the fibers have been dated to 2450 – 2000 BC. The really fantastic thing about the find is that analysis of the fibers by electron microscope suggest that the fibers were produced by Antheraea moths indigenous to South Asia. In other words, … Read more