Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun World Heritage Site

Official name

Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun | UNESCO

Country

Bahrain | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

Northern Region
26.2330° Lat, 50.5272° Lon | Map

Code

1192

Time Zone

Asia/Bahrain (+03, +0300)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2005. Qal’at al-Bahrain is a typical tell – an artificial mound created by many successive layers of human occupation. The strata of the 300 × 600 m tell testify to 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, a trading port, over the centuries. On the top of the 12 m mound there is the impressive Portuguese fort, which gave the whole site its name, qal’a (fort). The site was the capital of the Dilmun, one of the most important ancient civilizations of the region. It contains the richest remains inventoried of this civilization, which was hitherto only known from written Sumerian references.