The distance from the mouth of the Indus River to Mesopotamia is approximately 2000 kilometers. Indus merchants from sites such as Dholavira and Mohenjo daro probably covered this distance by sailing along the coast to various ports along the shores of the Arabian Gulf and Mesopotamia.

Across the sea
The depiction of a boat on this terracotta tablet provides important evidence regarding navigation in ancient times. This boat had a hull made of bound reeds with a cabin at the center and a double rudder near the stern. The birds depicted on this boat may provide evidence of the practice of releasing birds from boats in order to determine the direction of land from the open sea.