The Dilmun Temple at Saar: Bahrain and Its Archaeological Inheritance

by Harriet Crawford

The early Dilmun culture flourished on the shores of the Arabian Gulf more than four thousand years ago. Its origins lie in the Arabian Peninsula, but by about 2000 BC it was Bahrain which had become the centre of an important trading nation linking the developed but resource-starved cities of southern Iraq with the vital commodities and raw materials available in Oman and the Indus Valley. This volume is both a general introduction to the Early Dilmun culture of Bahrain, and a detailed account of the temple recently excavated at Ancient Saar by the London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition. The Dilmun people left no written records of their own, and their way of life is revealed by their material remains, the artefacts and architecture discovered through archaeology. Ancient Saar, with its extensive housing areas and associated cemeteries, is the first of their settlements to be excavated in detail. the focus of this volume is the monumental temple which dominated the ancient town, and which will be of importance to all those interested in the history and development of Bahrain and the Middle East, and to specialists working in the influential and expanding field of Gulf archaeology. --- 1. Early Dilmun and the Saar Settlement; 2. Architectural History of the Temple; 3. Activities inside the Evidence of Microstratigraphy; 4. Seals and Fragments of Art and Administration; 5. Temple Tools, Containers and Other Items [Copper Items, Objects of Shell and Ivory, Artefacts of Bitumen; Stone Artefacts, Including Ground-Stone Tools; Chipped Stone Tools; Pottery]; 6. Food Remains; 7. The An Overview; Bibliography; Appendices [Notes on the Recording System; Context List; Index of Contexts Arranged by Phase; Catalogue of Finds Arranged by Context; Index of Finds Arranged by Phase & Material]

116 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Dr. Harriet Crawford (Institute of Archaeology, University College London): Director, The Joint Kuwaiti-British Archaeological Expedition to As-Sabiyah. Dr. Crawford has had a long and distinguished career in Western Asian archaeology, having written numerous articles and books. She has a long-standing love of the Sumerians and their civilization. Prior to initiating the British Archaeological Expedition to Kuwait, she was a director of the successful London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition, which excavated at Saar. She is currently an Honorary Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, and a Fellow of the McDonald Institute, Cambridge.