The Qal'at al-Bahrain ( ar, قلعة البحرين; pt, Forte de Barém), also known as the Bahrain Fort or Portuguese Fort, is an archaeological site located in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. Archaeological excavations carried out since 1954 have unearthed antiquities from an artificial mound of height containing seven stratified layers, created by various occupants from 2300 BC up to the 18th century, including
Kassites
The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology).
They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
. It was once the capital of the
Dilmun civilization
Dilmun, or Telmun, ( Sumerian: , later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), ni.tukki = DILMUNki; ar, دلمون) was an ancient East Semitic-speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards.
Based on contextual evidence, it was ...
and was inscribed as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2005.
About
The fort and the
tell Qal'at al-Bahrain is built on, are located on the Bahrain island, on the northern seashore. On a clear day it is also seen from
Saar
Saar or SAAR has several meanings:
People Given name
*Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player
* Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist
*Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor
Surname
* Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...
. It stands like a "sentinel" near
Manama
Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...
, the capital of Bahrain; it is away from Manama on the fertile north coast.
The tell is the largest in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
region and was built close to the port and by reclamation of seashore land.
History and explorations
The archaeological findings, which are unearthed in the fort,reveal much about the history of the country. The area is thought to have been occupied for about 5000 years and contains a valuable insight into the Copper and Bronze Ages of Bahrain.
The first Bahrain Fort was built around three thousand years ago, on the northeastern peak of Bahrain Island. The present fort dates from the sixth century AD.
The capital of the Dilmun civilization, Dilmun was, according to the ''
Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...
'', the "land of immortality", the ancestral place of
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ians and a meeting point of gods.
![Portuguese Fort Bahrain 1870](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Portuguese_Fort_Bahrain_1870.jpg)
The site, 17.5 hectares in area, has been termed as Bahrain's "most important site in antiquity". The first excavation at the site was carried out by a Danish archaeological expedition led by
Geoffrey Bibby
Thomas Geoffrey Bibby (14 October 1917 – 6 February 2001, Aarhus) was an English-born archaeologist. He is best known for discovering the ancient state of Dilmun, referred to in Mesopotamian mythology as a paradise. He is often considered to ...
between 1954 and 1972 on behalf of the Prehistoric Museum of Moesgaard. A few, undated but
Kassite
The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology).
They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...
era, cuneform tablets were found. Beginning in the 1970s, a French expedition from the National Centre for Scientific Research worked the site.
About 50 tablets were uncovered. Three of them were dated to the reign of a Kassite king named Agum, believed to be
Agum III. Since 1987 Danish and Bahrain archaeologists have excavated at the site.
[Højlund, Flemming, and H. Hellmuth Andersen. "Qala'at Al-Bahrain./ 1 The Northern city wall and the Islamic fortress" Aarhus Aarhus Univ. Press 1994] The Danish expedition revealed that it was also a notable Hellenistic site.
Description
Qal`at al-Bahrain is a typical
tell – an artificial
mound
A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...
created by many successive layers of human occupation. The
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
spreads over a area, which encompasses the tell. This testifies to a continuous human presence from about 2300 BC to the 16th century AD. About 25% of the site has been
excavated revealing structures of different types:
[ residential, public, commercial, religious and military. They testify to the importance of the site as a trading port over the centuries. On the top of the mound, there is the impressive Qal`at al-Burtughal (]Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
), which gave the whole site its name, ''qal`a'', meaning "fort". As the site was the capital of the Dilmun civilisation, it contains the richest remains of this civilization, which was hitherto only known from written Sumerian references.[
The site contains many areas and walls, including Saar necropolis, Al-Hajjar necropolis, Kassite Palace, Madimat Hermand necropolis, Madimat Isa necropolis, Al-Maqsha Necropolis, Palace of Uperi, Shakhura necropolis, and the Northern city wall.] The ruins of the Copper Age consists of two sections of the fortification wall surrounding streets and houses, and a colossal building on the edge of the moat of the Portuguese fort in the centre. Barbar pottery has been unearthed around the walls of the central building, dating back to the same age as the Barbar Temples, although some of the other pottery and range of unearthed artefacts indicated that they predated the temples, dating back to 3000 BC or later. Relics of copper and ivory provide an insight into ancient trade links. Many vessels have been unearthed on the site, and Danish excavations of the Palace of Uperi
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
area revealed "snake bowls", sarcophagi, seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and a mirror, among other things.
Layout
The excavations of the tel have revealed a small settlement, the only one of that period in eastern Arabia, on its northern side. It has been inferred that the village was settled by people who developed agriculture near the oasis, planted palm trees, tended cattle, sheep and goats and also ventured into fishing in the Arabian Sea. The small houses they built were made of rough stone with clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
or mortar as binding material. The plastered floors in the houses were said to have been spacious. Excavations also hinted that the village had streets which separated the housing complexes.
The fortifications seen in the excavated tel area were found around the township and were erected in cardinal directions. The fort walls are seen now only in the northern, western and southern slopes of the tel, and the eastern side is yet to be excavated. The fortifications covered an area of , and the walls were built with varying thickness by using stone masonry
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
, and had gates which allowed transport and passing through, such as of donkey caravans. The fortifications were frequently raised, as noted from the gates erected at four levels; the latest gate had two polished stone (made of fine-grained material) pivots which fixed a double-leafed gate. The western wall was seen well-preserved for a length of . The streets were laid in north–south direction and were wide.
There was a palace in the centre of the tel at a commanding location consisting of several warehouses which were inferred as indicative of economic activity during the Dilmun period. Proceeding from here towards the north, along the street leads, to a large gate that probably was the entry to the palace grounds. The modest houses built in the same size and type of construction were laid along a network of roads.
The place prospered till 1800 BC after when it was deserted. Eventually the town became covered with drift sand from the sea.
Antiquaries
Metal artifacts found in the tell were limited to copper pieces, fishing tools and a socketed spearhead; a workshop of size was also identified where copper casting two piece moulds and wax moulds were found. Small and large crucibles used for melting of metal were recovered in substantial quantities indicative of large scale manufacture by professional artisans. The copper ware was then traded in surrounding countries such as Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
. Dilmun stamp seals were also recovered from the excavations.
Pots and vessels were also recovered. Pots were used for cooking, while the large vessels for food import from Oman and Mesopotamia. Artifacts found there indicates the location. These include a cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
inscription and hematite
Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
, both of which link to Mesopotamia; steatite bowls to Oman; and carnelian beads, a stone weight and a few potsherds to the Indus Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
.
Gallery
File:Bahrain Fort overview.jpg, Overview of the Bahrain Fort
File:Bahrain Fort 6.jpg, Staircase inside the fort
File:Bahrain Fort 3.jpg, Arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
ways present in the fort
File:Bahrain Fort.jpg, The exterior view of the fort
File:Bahrain Fort 7.jpg, Archaeological excavations at the site
File:Dilmun06.jpg, Dilmunite ruins at the fort
File:Dilmun03.jpg, Ruins at the fort
See also
*List of archaeological sites in Bahrain
There are multiple archaeological sites in Bahrain. Bahrain is an island country in the Persian Gulf consisting of a small archipelago centred around Bahrain Island. It is believed to be the location of the Dilmun civilisation, dating back to the ...
*Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
References
More Information
Lombard, Pierre. "Qal’at al-Bahrain, Ancient Capital and Harbour of Dilmun. The Site Museum." (2016).
*Lombard, P. 1986. Iron Age Dilmun. A reconsideration of City IV at Qala’t al Bahrain. In: A.M al-Khalifa and M. Rice (Eds.), Bahrain through the Ages. London. pp. 225–232
*
{{Authority control
Forts in Bahrain
World Heritage Sites in Bahrain
Archaeological sites in Bahrain
Former populated places in Southwest Asia
Portuguese colonial architecture in Bahrain
Dilmun