Dilmun goats seal

This amazing seal is one of many found in Dilmun, an ancient port located in today's Bahrein which was founded in the late 4th millenium BC and abandoned in the mid 1st millennium BC...

Located in the Persian Gulf, it controlled the major trade route between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Now back to the seal. It depicts a date palm, the Mesopotamian tree of life. On one side of the tree is ascending ibex goat and on the other is descending ibex goat. The tree grows out of a scorpio...What does all this mean?

The climate in Bahrein consists of very hot and completely dry summer (May-October/November) and slightly cooler slightly rainy winter (October/November - May)...

If it wasn't for the winter rain, Dilman would have not been there at all. It was this rain that supported life in the area. And again, interestingly, in Dilman the beginning of the rain season coincides with the beginning of the Ibex goat mating season...October/November...

So this is why we have ibexes flanking the tree of life. The one going up symbolises the beginning of the mating season when Ibexes ascend the mountain peaks and the one going down symbolises the end of the mating season when ibexes descend the mountain peaks...

But what about the scorpion? Why is the tree of life growing out of a scorpion? Because of this: Zodiac sign scorpio marks the part of the Solar year between 23rd of October and 22nd of November...Right the period when Ibexes start their mating season and rains arrive...

We know that scorpion was a common marking sign on seals and stamps since the Early Sumerian civilisation. I have managed to explain every animal zodiac symbol as a marker for a significant lifecycle event of the animal depicted in the series of articles about zodiac.

Why is scorpio in the zodiac circle where it is?

Scorpions prefer areas where the temperatures range from 20 to 37 °C. When temperatures get low enough, like for instance in late October, early November, scorpions metabolism slows down and they hide in warm places. This table shows yearly fluctuation of temperature in Dilmun. 

Based on this, we can see that scorpions will start slowing down and looking for a place to spind the winter right about the time of the dancing goats: November.

Based on these statistics people must have noticed that the scorpions were stinging a lot less suddenly...

"Epidemiological study of scorpion stings in Saudi Arabia between 1993 and 1997"

Maybe people noticed the sudden absence of scorpions??? And marked that with Scorpio? Or maybe people noticed sudden appearance of scorpions inside their dwellings, where they move because they are warm and cosy? And marked that with Scorpio?

Still open question, but getting closer...