Qal’at al Bahrain

Qal'at al-Bahrain, also known as the Bahrain Fort or Portuguese Fort, is an archaeological site on the northern shore of Bahrain Island, 6 km (4 mi) from Manama. Excavations carried out since 1954 have unearthed antiquities from an artificial mound of 12 m (39 ft) height containing seven stratified layers, created by various occupants from 2300 BC up to the 18th century, including Kassites, Greeks, Portuguese and Persians. It is described as the oldest fortification in the Persian Gulf region and was once the capital of the Dilmun civilization. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

The site is a typical tell, an artificial mound created by many successive layers of human occupation, and it is the largest in the Persian Gulf region. It covers 17.5 hectares, and about 25% has been excavated, revealing residential, public, commercial, religious and military structures that testify to its importance as a trading port. On top of the mound stands the Qalʿat al-Burtughal, the Portuguese fort, which gave the whole site its name, qalʿa meaning fort. The present fort dates from the sixth century AD.

The earliest settlement on the northern side was small, and it is inferred that its people developed agriculture near the oasis, planted palm trees, tended cattle, sheep and goats and fished. Houses were built of rough stone with clay or mortar and had plastered floors, and streets separated the housing complexes. Fortifications covering 15 ha (37 acres) were built in stone masonry with gates wide enough for donkey caravans, raised repeatedly so that gates were erected at four levels. A palace stood at the centre, and streets 12 m (39 ft) wide ran north–south.

Finds show a busy trading and craft centre. A workshop of 525 m (1,722 ft) size held two-piece moulds and wax moulds for copper casting, with crucibles in substantial quantities pointing to large scale manufacture by professional artisans, and the copper ware was traded to Oman and Mesopotamia. Cuneiform and hematite link to Mesopotamia, steatite bowls to Oman, and carnelian beads, a stone weight and a few potsherds to the Indus Civilization. The Palace of Uperi area yielded snake bowls, sarcophagi, seals and a mirror.

A Danish expedition led by Geoffrey Bibby worked the site between 1954 and 1972, finding a few undated Kassite-era cuneiform tablets. A French expedition from the 1970s uncovered about 50 tablets, three dated to the reign of a Kassite king named Agum, believed to be Agum III. Danish and Bahraini archaeologists have excavated since 1987, and the Danish work also showed it to be a notable Hellenistic site.

The fort and the tell Qal'at al-Bahrain, is built on are located on the northern shore of Bahrain Island. On a clear day it is also seen from Saar. It stands like a "sentinel" near Manama, the capital of Bahrain; it is 6 km (4 mi) away from Manama on the fertile north coast. The tell is the largest in the Persian Gulf region and was built close to the port and by reclamation of seashore land.