Timber

The forests of the Himalayas, Baluchistan, and the Gujarati hills, as well as the jungles of well watered lowlands in the Indus Basin, were the source of timber used as a building material, for fuel, for many domestic purposes, and for export. Useful species included sissoo, acacia, and tamarisk, which were widely available. Sissoo was used for roof beams at Mohenjo-daro, while acacia was found at Lothal and Rangpur, used for making tools and furniture as well as in construction. The main use of tamarisk was for fuel, though it could be used for making many objects and structural elements; it is attested to at Rangpur. Rosewood was available on the plains, as well as in peninsular India: It was used for one of the wooden coffins found at Harappa and was also employed for making furniture, tools, and the wheels of carts. In the east the forests also held sal trees. The trees at higher altitudes in the mountains included deodar and pine, known from Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and used in buildings and

For other purposes; both are fragrant woods, as is sissoo. Elm, also growing at high altitudes, was used for construction at Harappa. Another mountain species, the birch, is not attested to, but in later times it was used for fuel and its bark was an important writing material. Teak, generally useful and particularly suitable for shipbuilding because it is water-resistant, grew on the high ground in Gujarat, and in lower parts of the region baru grass (Sorghum halepensis) yielded tough tubular stems up to 5 meters long that were suitable for making smaller boats. Ebony was available in the forests of the Western Ghats but has not been found in Harappan sites, though it may be referred to in Mesopotamian texts as an import from the Indus (sulum meluhhi, "black wood of Meluhha," alternatively identified as rosewood). Mangrove, also possibly similarly mentioned (kusabku meluhhie, "Meluhhan seawood," alternatively identified as teak), was available along the west coast and may have been used in boatbuilding and for fuel. Native fruit trees included jujube, almond, and pistachio; a wooden mortar set in a grinding platform at Harappa was of jujube wood. Bamboo was available in the Makran and its wood was found at Harappa. Date palms grew in the Makran and in Sindh: As well as their fruit, they yielded wood, leaves for making baskets, mats, and roofs, and fiber for ropes and cords.