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Dilmun-Ancient Paradise of Bible that may have housed a

Shiva Temple?

By: Bipin Shah

Ancient Trades between Indus-Saraswati valleys with Mesopotamia:

In cuneiform tablet of Sumeria, there is a short poem that describes this ancient paradise

called Dilmun (Telmun in Elamite) that existed long time ago but it is now called the kingdom

of Bahrain surrounded by sand dunes.

“In Dilmun the raven utters no cry, the lion kills not. The wolf snatches not the lamb,

unknown is the grain-devouring bear. The sick-headed says not ’I am sick-headed,’ the old

woman says not ’I am an old woman,’ the old man says not ’I am an old man.”

Some have identified this as the “Garden of Eden” as described in the Bible. Dilmun, Magan,

Meluhha, Sumer and Akkad were the cities of Fertile Crescent during Bronze Age and they

became the industrial and trading hubs of the ancient world that supplied their cities with

various economic necessities by commercial exchange. Dilmun was also a sacred or holy land

and known in the ancient world as the residence of the God. It is believed Sumerians

originated from here before they settled in Mesopotamia and build the cities. As poem

describes it, it was not only the land of living in the Garden of Eden, but also the land of

immortality.

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Sargon-I's inscriptions report that “ships from Magan, Meluhha, and Dilmun, among other

places, rode at anchor in his capital of Agade.” He was Akkadian and became world emperor

of the known civilization of his time. L.A. Waddell in his book the “Makers of civilization”

equated him as same as Vedic king Sagar and suggesting that Vedic people originated from

Sumerian and Akkadian.

Sargon-I inscription Sargon II at Tang-i Var, village at Hawraman, Zagros, Iran

Sargon II was the Assyrian king and supposed to have reigned 722 – 705 BC. And he left a long

carved inscription in Iran. The Line 27 of the inscription states: “Ahundari, king of Dilmun whose liar

is situated at a distance of …league (in the middle of ocean) like that of fish, heard of my royal might and

brought me his great gift.”

Gilgamesh was a Sumerian hero and was famous throughout the Mesopotamia from 2000

B.C. to the seventh century B.C., when the epic was "probably written down and scribed in

the palace of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria. Gilgamesh was considered so important to this

Assyrian king, he wanted to preserve his story, exploits and adventures. Dilmun is featured in

this epic.

“Gilgamesh set out to find Utnapishtim, the one man saved by the gods from The Flood. Making him immortal, they had placed him with his wife in Dilmun, the Garden of the Gods. Gilgamesh would ask Utnapishtim how to become immortal himself.” It further goes on: “ To reach Dilmun, one must cross the

deep, bitter Waters of Death, and the Images kept the ferryman safe on the crossing. In a fit of temper,

Gilgamesh broke the Images of Stone and, when he found the boatman, Urshanabi said that it was now too

dangerous to cross. However, he had Gilgamesh cut long poles from the woods, and they launched the boat on

the sea. When they reached the Waters of Death that lay between it and Dilmun, Gilgamesh punted the boat

along, dropping each pole before his hand touched the fatal Waters. Reaching Dilmun, Gilgamesh told

Utnapishtim why he had come there. Utnapishtim said first he must pass a test: not sleeping for six days and

seven nights. But Gilgamesh was exhausted by his journey and he who had once needed no rest now fell into a

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profound slumber. Every day, Utnapishtim's wife stood a fresh loaf of bread beside him. When Utnapishtim

woke him, he saw six of them and despaired.” At another part of the epic of Gilgamesh,

"Let me admire its green cedars. The (people of the) lands Magan and Dilmun, Let them come to see me, Enki!

Let the mooring posts be placed for the Dilmun boats! Let the Magilum-boats of Meluhha transport of gold and

silver for exchange...The land of Tukris' shall transport gold from Harali, lapis lazuli and bright... to you. The land

Meluhha shall bring cornelian, desirable and precious sissoo-wood from Magan, excellent mangroves; on big

ships, the land Marhashi will (bring) precious stones, dushia-stones, (to hang) on the breast. The land Magan will

bring copper, strong, mighty, diorite-stone, na-buru-stones, shumin-stones to you. The land of the Sea shall

bring ebony, the embellishment of (the throne) of kingship to you. The land of the tents shall bring wool... The

city, its dwelling places shall be pleasant dwelling places, Dilmun; its dwelling place shall be a pleasant dwelling

place. Its barley shall be fine barley; its dates shall be very big dates! Its harvest shall be threefold. Its trees shall

be ...-trees."

Dilmun was the land where Sun (Shamash) rose every day. Dilmun being in the middle of

trade stop to Mesopotamia from Indus valley became an important trading center for

exchange of the goods from the late fourth millennium BC to 700 BC. At the height of her

glory, Dilmun controlled the Persian Gulf trading routes by sea and perhaps also the land

route. Their strategic location in ancient world made them very wealthy as today’s oil reserve

does. Dilmun's commercial importance declined after Assyrian conquest around 1000 BC and

then Persian defeated Neo-Assyrian empire, Dilmun reverted to their colony and tributary

and Silk Road developed.

Three centers of ancient trades Dilmun (Bahrain), Magan (Oman) and Meluhha (India)

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“The Dilmun civilization was the centre of commercial activities linking traditional agriculture of the land - then

utterly fertile due to artesian wells that have dried since, and due to a much wetter climate - with maritime

trade between diverse regions such as the Indus Valley called Meluhha, present ´Oman called Magan(Megan),

and Mesopotamia(Iraq). The Dilmun civilization is mentioned first in Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets dated to

the late third millennium BC, found in the temple of goddess Inanna, in the city of Uruk. The word Dilmun was

used in that inscription, to describe a type of axe and a specific official; in addition to that, there are lists of

rations of wool issued to people connected with Dilmun.”

This information was extracted from the Correspondence between Ilī-ippašra, the governor

of Dilmun, and Enlil-kidinni, the governor of Nippur, around 1350 BC.

Another oldest inscriptions mentioning Dilmun is that of king Ur-Nanshe of Lagash (2300 BC)

found in a door-socket: "The ships of Dilmun brought him wood as tribute from foreign lands."

"BE XVII 88" by Hugo Radau - Letters to the Kassite Kings from the Temple Archives of Nippur, no. 88. “

Dilmun was also mentioned in two letters dated to the reign of Burnaburiash (1370 BC)

recovered from Nippur, during the Kassite dynasty of Babylon. These letters were from a

provincial official, Ilī-ippašra, in Dilmun to his friend Enlil-kidinni, the governor of Nippur. The

names referred to are Akkadian. All these were indicative of some sort of administrative

relationship between all these places.

Eduard Glaser proposed that the Garden of Eden was located in Eastern Arabia within the

Dilmun civilization in 1922 AD. Juris Zarins echoed that and proposed that the Biblical Garden

of Eden was situated somewhere in Dilmun at the head of the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris

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and Euphrates Rivers merged into sea. Under this hypothesis, Gihon River mentioned in Bible

would correspond with the Karun River in Iran. Extending this proposition, the north of Karun

River near Black sea-Baltic region can be also the home of Achemenians and Mahabharata’s

Kuru –Pandava clans.

The kingdom of Bahrain holds a number of archeological remains from the Dilmun era. Most

notable is the temple of Barbar, and the Qala'at Bahrain (ancient port-fort). The northern

coast contains remains of the main city of Dilmun from 3000 until 1800 BCE. The Barbar

Temple is an archaeological site located in the village of Barbar, Bahrain, and considered to

be part of the Dilmun culture. The most recent of the three Barbar temples were

rediscovered by a Danish archaeological team in 1954 AD. The oldest of three temples dates

back to 3000 BC. The temples were built from limestone blocks from nearby island. The

discovery of the site was made by P.V. Glob and was excavated by Danish archeological team

headed by Anderson and Mortensen. The work was interrupted and again resumed in 2004.

Karun (Kuru) River originating in north emptying in gulf

Commodities, Goods of Trade and seals as evidences:

There are plenty of earlier literary and now archaeological evidence of trade between Ancient

Mesopotamia and the Indus –saraswati civilization who Akkadians called the land of

Meluhha. The Impressions of clay seals from the Indian cities of Rakhigiri, Mohan-Je-Daro,

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Lothal and Harappa were used to seal bundles of merchandise with clay seal impressions with

cord or sack, as indicated on reverse side of the seals. A number of these ancient Indian seals

have turned up at ancient ruins of Ur and other places in Iraq. The main products traded

through Dilmun were copper, stone beads, precious stones, pearls, dates, vegetables and

other agricultural products.

Simultaneously, we find circular and stamped seals originated from Dilmun at the site of

Lothal, Gujarat, India, and also at Failaka, in Iraq offering evidence of thriving sea trade. The

commerce of imported commodities consisted of timber and precious woods, ivory, lapis

lazuli, gold, and certain luxury goods such as carnelian and glazed stone beads, pearls , shell

and bone inlays, silver, tin, woolen textiles, olive oil and grains from Meluhha and Sumer.

First two circular seals of Dilmun are from Failaka of Iraq and rest was found in Dilmun and Susa which was once

seat of Elamite Empire of Mesopotamia.

Seals from Bahrain Museum

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Trading Port and Fort- Qala'at-al-Bahrain:

Archaeological excavations carried out at Qala’at-al-Bahrain , since 1954 have unearthed

antiquities containing seven stratified layers of 40 feet, occupied by various civilization from

Akkadian, Elamite, Kassite, Assyrian, Persian and Arabs from 3000 BC up to the 16th

century

AD. It was once the capital of the Dilmun civilization and is now inducted as a UNESCO World

Heritage Site. The Portuguese occupied it from 16th

century AD onward until they were

dislodged by British.

The site contains many necropolises such as Saar, Al-Hajjar, Kassite palace, Madimat

Haermans, Al-Maqsha, Uperi palace, Shakhura and city. The ruins of the Bronze Age consists

several fortification of walls surrounding streets and houses, and a colossal building on the

edge that has the Old Portuguese fort.

Views of the Arch at the entrance, staircase and outside view of the fort Qala’at-al-Bahrain

Some archeological objects dates back to 3000 BC with some relics of ivory from Meluhha

(India) establish the ancient trade link. Many seals and vassals have been unearthed during

excavation now housed in the museum. Uperi Palace provided "snake bowls", sarcophage,

seals and a mirror, among other artifacts. Qala’at al-Bahrain once served as the capital city of

kingdom now appears as a typical mound resulted from successive layers of human

habitation dated to almost 3000 BC. Approximately 30 to 40 % of site has been excavated. It

contains the richest remains inventoried of this civilization in a site museum, which was

hitherto only known from written Sumerian references and other inscription. This

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undoubtedly was a meeting place of various nationalities, languages, beliefs and worshipers

encompassing various ethnicities over different time period.

Aerial View-Qala’at-al-Bahrain

Museum Replica of ancient settlement

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Archeological Excavation at Qala’at-al-Bahrain

Museum- sarcophage Pearls was one of the main export of ancients

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Exhibits and potteries from earliest time to relatively recent times below are seals of Sumerian, Akkadian and

Elamites Gods and Goddesses like God Enki and Ninhursag below in seals

Ancient Tablets depicting Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses

Red potteries with design, cuneiform tablet and burial jar with bones

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Replica of ancient boat copper headed Bull Ruins of ancient Port of Dilmun

Cylinder seals

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Satellite view of the island in color

Ancient seals of Dilmun Bronze Age weapons Ninkasi- Enki’s daughter

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Temples of Barbar

In addition to the Qala’at-al-Bahrain, there is another important archeological site called

Temples of Barbar that has a complex containing three temples. Why three temples? Well,

with diverse population of resident traders, they will have to have more than one.

Barbar pottery has been unearthed around the walls of the central building, dating back to

the same age as the Barbar Temples now in the museum, although some of the other pottery

and range of unearthed artifacts indicated that they predated the temples, dating back to

3000 BC or later. The Relics of copper and ivory provide an insight into ancient trade links

with Meluhha (India). Many ancient vessels have been unearthed on the site and stored in

the museum. The Barbar Temples are important archaeological site located in the village of

Barbar, Bahrain, and is considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The most recent of the

three Barbar temples was rediscovered by a Danish archaeological team. Another two

temples were discovered on the site with the oldest dating back to 3000 BC. The temples

were built of limestone blocks, believed to have been carved out from nearby Island.

One of the temples that dates to 3000 BC is an underground shrine is interpreted as the

abode of Enki and Abzus, the god of wisdom and of all freshwater. The temple of Abzus is

mentioned in cuneiform texts of Mesopotamia. This temple has an oval sacrificial platform

connected by a paved ramp and a stair case to main temple sanctum sanctorum connected

with a central temple platform by a paved ramp and a staircase. The floor of the court was

covered with ashes and the bones of cattle and sheep, the sacrificed animals as part of

religious rituals.

The third temple may have been built for the people from Meluhha or during Elamite

occupation of Dilmun. The author always believed that Vedic Aryan did not have the concept

of God “trinity”. The only Vedic God consistent with other Aryan culture of Middle East was

Brahma from where Brahmin caste derives their identity as they were the official priest. The

author believes that all “blue Gods” like Shiva was native to India. Although, this is a theory

but it makes a common sense as present Hinduism is fusion of ancient beliefs and

worshipping practices of various ethnicities and group of people of the ancient India.

According to Dr. Loganathan, a Tamil scholar, “the word “Barbar” refers to 'Paarppar' in Tamil

Language of India. ’Paarppaar' is another Tamil name for Hindu God 'Shiva'. He also proposes

that Sumerian word 'Dil Mun' is identified in Tamil as 'Tillai Manru', that means 'the Place

where (Manru) the souls get embodied and begin to enjoy existence. Dilmun’s other name

was “Tilmun” was probably given by Meluhha people or Elamites.”

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Of course, this will be hard to prove as during Islamic conquest, if there were any statues

related to Hinduism, the Islamic Iconoclast would have ransacked them and destroyed them.

The logic of Dr. Loganathan’ theory makes sense as each ancient trading port; there was

permanent presence of other nationalities.

The temple will have Shiva’s Phallus and Linga for worship and offering. This temple was in

use until the early centuries of the second millennium BC when Harrapan culture vanished.

The temple was larger than other temple. Two circular offering tables of finely cut stone with

a low altar between them still stand in the middle of the courtyard. There were three

standing stone blocks pierced with round holes. The animal sacrifice may have been

conducted in prehistoric times.

Shivas Phallus and Linga

Tamil scripture contains mythology, stories and sacred narratives belonging to the Tamil

people. This body of mythology is a mix of elements from the Tamil culture, Dravidian

(Elamites) culture and Indus-saraswati Valley cultures along with the Hindu religious aspects.

The Tamil literature is parallel with the Sanskrit literature and forms a major source of

information on Hindu culture. The story of Chidambaram begins with Lord Shiva strolling into

the Thillai forest where group of sages or 'Rishis' resided and they believed in the supremacy

of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and mantras or magical words. In same

scripture of Chidambaram, it states:

“The Land of Tillai Manru (Dilmun, Tilmun) is pure, clean and bright. This place is where Shiva

(Enki) with his wife Ninsikilla (Ninhursag) laid himself down. The area will be surrounded by

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Crouching Kids, Lambs, Oxen, Lions, Leopards, Corn Plants and speckled birds like crows. In

order to change the course of the canal commanded by no man except the prince. A maiden

whose water was not poured out in the city was not given in marriage.”

This is the interesting interpretation by Dr, Loganathan and reinforces our deep connection

with Mesopotamia, particularly Elamite culture of Susa, Iran.

According to Salman al-Mahari, the Bahraini archaeologist in charge, he calls the settlement

of “Saar” is divided into two sections: a residential zone and, at a small distance, the

cemetery where the inhabitants buried their dead. "This burial cemetery and ancient residential zone

have provided valuable about the people’s daily life. This has enabled them to compare the finds made at other

locations in Indus valley and Iraq and also on the island. These finds date back to early Dilmun period”. They

found the skeletons in Jar and also sarcophage (see above in museum exhibits).

According to him, Dilmun was one of most important ancient civilizations of the world and is

dated to the third millennium BC and was a major hub of trading route between the world's

other oldest civilizations namely Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus Valley of India. Dilmun’s

commercial trade links with the ancient cities of India, Elam, Larsa, Hittite and Assyria

continued for centuries.

Trading of commodities-partial listing

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Dilmun seal at Lothal, Gujarat Mesopotamian Figure at Lothal Round seals from Gulf region in India

Similar Potteries from National Museum at New Delhi

Why Dr. Loganathan hypothesis has some validity:

1. After decline and abandonment of Indus-saraswati civilization of India, the whole track

east of Sindhu River would remain wide open for refugees, invaders or immigrants.

2. There have been various battles in prehistory between Kingdom of Elam and Assyrian

kings.

3. Assurbanipal, the powerful Assyrian king was dissatisfied with the Elam for their support of

Chaldeans and demanded the statue of Nana but Elamite king resisted his demand that

eventually brought sack and destruction of all Elamite cities including Susa and Ahsan and

exile of Elamites people (645 BC) (11) . To quote the glowing words of Ezekiel, the Jewish

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prophet “There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen

by the sword”. The survivors and exiles could not go west as Assyrians controlled the west.

They can only go east. Some migrated found a way through Dilmun and Magan to south India

and some found refuge in province of Baluchistan. This is where we find the linguistic

evidence and connection. Elamite language which is a language isolate and it is considered

Proto –Dravidians, from where Tamil language descended.

REFERENCES:

1. Epic of Gilgamesh: http://www.deathreference.com/Gi-Ho/Gilgamesh.html#ixzz3c0dvjxpa

2. Eden of the Eyes: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/18/travel/eden-on-the-isle-of-

bahrain.html

3. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/serpents_dragons/boulay15e.htm

4. Traces of Paradise: The Archaeology of Bahrain, 2500 BC to 300 AD by Harriet Crawford,

Michael Rice

5. "Qala’at al-Bahrain”, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, April

2011.

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7. The Mouth of the Rivers, AJSL, 35 (1919): W.F. Albright

8. http://www.crystalinks.com/dilmun.html

9. Indus civilization and Dilmun by Samuel Noah Cramer www.penn.muse...University of

Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, a PDF downloadable.

10. Dilmun http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/dilmun0.htm

11. https://www.academia.edu/7608175/Elamite_and_Tamil_Connection