Saar: Dilmun Monument and Burial Landscape

The Dilmun Monument Area is located close to the destination of Saar. It lies about one kilometre south of the modern village of Saar and covers 30 hectares. For travellers interested in Dilmun history, the area offers a tangible point of connection to the subject.

The Dilmun Monument Area of Saar

The nearby monument area in Saar includes an Early Dilmun town, the southern “Honeycomb” burial complex, a northern burial complex, a Late Dilmun temple and individual burial mounds. These features represent different aspects of the archaeological landscape: settlement, temple and burial sites. A joint presentation of the monuments as a single attraction has been proposed.

The northern burial complex in the nearby monument area lies on the eastern edge of the limestone ridge and measures approximately 100 by 60 metres. These measurements refer to the individual complex, while the 30 hectares describe the area of the entire monument site. The two figures help distinguish the scale of one section from the extent of the whole area.

In the surroundings of Saar, in the area of the proposed Saar Heritage Park, a single Dilmun tomb was reconstructed up to roof level in 1992. The reconstruction illustrates what such a burial mound may have looked like immediately after it was built. It adds a concrete example of a tomb’s possible original appearance to the overview of the burial complexes.

If you are planning a visit to the monument area, please check current access arrangements in advance.

Archaeological perspectives in Al-Muhafazah Ash-Shamaliyah

Within the wider destination of Al-Muhafazah Ash-Shamaliyah, the Northern Governorate is located on the northwestern side of Bahrain’s main island. The Northern Governorate is notable for containing a large share of Bahrain’s antiquities. Regional archaeological sites in the Northern Governorate include Saar Settlement, Saar Burial Mounds, Jannusan Hills, Aali Burial Mounds, Saar Temple, Ain Umm al-Sujur and Barbar Temple. Together, these examples illustrate the variety of archaeological sites in the wider destination.

The Diraz temple complex preserves the southwestern remnant of an extensive Dilmun settlement covering about 700 square metres. The temple was probably built in the early 2nd millennium BC. The Barbar Temples offer a different architectural point of reference: they consist of three successive temples, built in five construction phases and dating from the 2nd and 3rd millennia BC.

The region’s burial mound fields differ in size and individual features. The A´Ali West Burial Mound Field comprises 723 burial mounds and preserves the arrangement of mounds at the edge of a burial mound field. Six distinctive burial mounds with outer ring walls are considered evidence of chiefly burials; some are visible. The Madinat Hamad 1 Burial Mounds Field, also called the Buri Burial Mound Field, preserves 754 burial mounds dated to the period from 2050 to 1700 BC. The A´Ali East Burial Mound Field is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Dilmun Burial Mounds”.

Another example is the Shakhura Tylos Necropolis. It is protected by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and contains 15 visible Tylos burial mounds. Grave stelae and other grave goods from the necropolis are kept or displayed at the Bahrain National Museum. The northern burial complex at Al-Hajjar also adds to the regional archaeological context: it contains rare rock-cut tombs that were used from the Early Dilmun period through the Hellenistic and Parthian periods.

Discover more destinations: Hamala, Zallaq, Karbabad.

Go to the wider travel overview: Bahrain.