Since Sumer played such a seminal function in world civilization and the Sumerians appeared on the world stage with a completely developed civilization it is of interest where they came from. In the Sumerian texts there are references to the land of Dilmun which seems to indicate that it was the original homeland of the Sumerians.

The apparent location of Dilmun is the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. There are about one hundred thousand grave mounds on Bahrain and excavations reveal the remains of an extensive port city. Bahrain has some fresh water wells that are crucial for provisioning of trading ships in the Persian Gulf area. Its island location gave Bahrain security from marauders. Bahrain was therefore a natural site for a trading city-state. Such port cities because of the interaction of people of many different languages and cultures usually develop sophisticated cultures and economies of their own.

As the map below indicates Dilmun-Bahrain was most likely an important link between the civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Indus River valley.

Bibliography on Dilmun

Articles

• Goeffrey Bibby, "Looking for Dilmun," Horizon, (Autumn 1969) Vol. XI, no. 4 (pp. 54-59).
• Alexis Boutin et al., Face to face with the past: Reconstructing a teenage boy from Early Dilmun, Near Eastern Archaeology (June 2012) (p.65 (13)).
• Randolf Rausch et al. The Riddle of the Springs of Dilmun Groundwater (July 2014) Vol. 52 (pp. 640-644).
• D.T. Potts Revisiting the snake burials of the Late Dilmun of the building complex on Bahrain Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy (May 2007) Vol. 18 (pp. 55-74).
• Steffen Terp Laursen, The westward transmission of Indus Valley sealing technology (Early Dilmun c. 2100-2000 BC) Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy (Nov. 2010) Vol. 23 (pp. 35-49).
• Steffen Terp Laursen, Symbols of Dilmun's royal house Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy (May 2016) Vol. 27 (pp. 2-18).

Books

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• Goeffrey Bibby, Looking for Dilmun,, Alfred A. Knopf, 1969.
• Harriet Crawford, Dilmun and its Gulf Neighbors, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• Harriet Crawford, Dilmun Temple at Saar, Moonrise Press Ltd., 2017.
• Harriet Crawford, Early Dilmun Seals from Saar; Archaeology International, 2001. Michael Rice, Dilmun Discovered, Dept. of Antiquities and Museums, State of Bahrain, 1984. Michael Rice, The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf, 5000-523 BC, Ebook Central Academic, 1994.
• Anna Hilton, Failaka/Dilmun: The Stone Vessels, Jysk Arkaeologisk Selskab, 2014.
• Poul Kjaerum, Failaka/Dilmun: 2nd Millennium Settlements, Vol. 1, The Stamp and Cylinder Seals, Aarhus University Press, 1983.
• Flemming Hojlund, <The Burial Mounds of Bahrain, Jysk Arkaeologisk Selskab, 2008.
• Flemming Hojlund, <Failaka/Dilmun: 2nd Millennium Settlements, Vol. 2: The Bronze Age Pottery, Aarhus University Press, 1987.
• Flemming Hojlund, <Danish archaeological investigations on Failaka, Kuwait, Failaka/Dilmun: 2nd Millennium Settlements 1986.,
• Mohammad Ratique Mughal, The Dimun burial complex at Sar: the 1980-82 excavations in Bahrain, State of Bahrain, Ministry of Information and Archaeology, 1983.
• Joaé Nicas Montoto, Océanos de Dilmun
• No Author, Bahrain, a Modern Dilmun State of Bahrain, Ministry of Information and Archaeology, 1982.
• Neil Brooker, Bahrain, a Modern Dilmun
• Ali Akbar Bushiri, Dilmun Culture, Netherland Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, 1992.