The Royal Mounds of A'ali in Bahrain

The Royal A’ali of Mounds Bahrain in The Royal Mounds of A’ali in Bahrain The Emergence of Kingship in Early Dilmun

Steffe Terp Laursen tfeTerp Laursen Steffe

Jutland Archaeological Society

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107642_cover_royal mounds_.indd 1 28/11/17 09:58 TheThe Royal Royal Mounds Mounds of of A’ali A’ali, in Bahrain Bahrain The Emergence of Kingship in Early Dilmun

by Stefen Terp Laursen

with contribu ions by Gianni Marchesi, Jesper Olsen & Thomas Van de Velde

Jutland Archaeological Society, Moesgaard Museum, Denmark Bahrain Authority for Culture & An iqui ies

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 2 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_r1_.indd 3 30-11-2017 0:3:04 The Royal Mounds of A’ali in Bahrain The Emergence of Kingship in Early Dilmun

ISBN 978-87-93423-19-0

Jutland Archaeological Society Publicaions vol. 100

Digi izing plans and sec ions: Jonatan Rose Andersen, Stefen Terp Laursen, Karl Hjalte Maack Raun

English revision: Lisa Yeomans & Sharon Rhodes. Graphic design: Jonatan Rose Andersen, Stefen Terp Laursen, Lars Foged Thomsen

Layout and cover: Louise Hilmar / Ea Rasmussen. Cover photo: P.V. Glob

Photos: Casper Skaaning Andersen, Peter Moe Astrup, David Pretzel Bennetsen, T.G. Bibby, Claus Feveile, Jakob Fink, Lene Behrmann Frandsen, P.V. Glob, Flemming Højlund, Andreas Nymark Jensen, Jens Vellev, Michael Vinter Jensen, Nanna Kirkeby, Stefen Terp Laursen, Ufe Lind Rasmussen, Karl Hjalte Maack Raun, Juris Zarins, Bahrain Authority for Culture & Aniquiies, Carier Heritage Department, CVMVS Museum Mumbai, Moesgaard Museum

E-book produc ion: Narayana Press

Published by: Jutland Archaeological Society in cooperaion with Moesgaard Museum and Bahrain Authority for Culture & Aniquiies

Distributed by Aarhus University Press Finlandsgade 29 DK-8200 Aarhus N www.unipress.dk

Published with support of the Carlsberg Foundaion

107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_r1_.indd 4 30-11-2017 14:30:57 The Royal Mounds of A’ali in Bahrain The Emergence of Kingship in Early Dilmun Content © Stefen Terp Laursen 2017 and individual authors

Jutland Archaeological Society Publicaions vol. 100

Digi izing plans and sec ions: Jonatan Rose Andersen, Stefen Terp Laursen, Karl Hjalte Maack Raun

Drawings: Jonatan Rose Andersen, Casper Skaaning Andersen, Peter Moe Astrup, David Pretzel Bennetsen, Claus Feveile, Jakob Fink, Lene Behrmann Frandsen, Andreas Nymark Jensen, Michael Vinter Jensen, Stefen Terp Laursen, Ufe Lind Rasmussen, Karl Hjalte Maack Raun 1. Introduction ...... 9 English revision: Lisa Yeomans & Sharon Rhodes. Graphic design: Jonatan Rose Andersen, Stefen Terp Laursen, Lars Foged Thomsen 2. The early explorers and exploration history of A’ali ...... 11 Layout and cover: Louise Hilmar / Ea Rasmussen. Cover photo: P.V. Glob An anonymous Englishman, before 1782 ...... 11 Photos: Casper Skaaning Andersen, Peter Moe Astrup, David Pretzel Bennetsen, T.G. Bibby, Captain (later Sir) Edward Law Durand, 1878-79 ...... 11 Claus Feveile, Jakob Fink, Lene Behrmann Frandsen, P.V. Glob, Flemming Højlund, Andreas Of cers of HMS Sphinx after May 1886 and before February 8th 1889 ...... 12 Nymark Jensen, Jens Vellev, Michael Vinter Jensen, Nanna Kirkeby, Stefen Terp Laursen, th th Ufe Lind Rasmussen, Karl Hjalte Maack Raun, Juris Zarins, Bahrain Authority for Culture & James Theodore and Mabel Bent, 8 -18 February 1889 ...... 12 Aniquiies, Carier Heritage Department, CVMVS Museum Mumbai, Moesgaard Museum André Jouannin, 1903 ...... 13 Lieutenant Colonel Francis Beville Prideaux, 1906-1908 ...... 14 Jacques Cartier, 1911 ...... 16 Published by: Jutland Archaeological Society in cooperaion with Moesgaard Museum and Bahrain Authority for Culture & Aniquiies Ernest John Henry Mackay, 1925 ...... 16 Ronald Sinclair’s uncon rmed report of German archaeologists, 1929 ...... 17 Distributed by Aarhus University Press Charles Belgrave and the RAF, 1944 ...... 18 Finlandsgade 29 Danish Gulf Expedition, 1960-63 ...... 18 DK-8200 Aarhus N www.unipress.dk Abdul Aziz Suweileh, 1982 ...... 19 Bahrain National Museum, c. 1987, c. 1998 and 2009-2012 ...... 19 Extract from Nāṣir al-Khayrī 2003 ...... 19

3. Gazetteer of elite burial mounds previously investigated in A’ali ...... 21

4. Recent investigations ...... 85 Introduction ...... 85 Research objectives and strategy...... 85 Dates and participants ...... 87

Excavation reports ...... 88

Mound A (Gazetteer no. 2) ...... 89

Mound D (Gazetteer no. 6) ...... 95

Mound E (Gazetteer no. 7) ...... 99

Mound H (Gazetteer no. 10) ...... 118

Mound L (Gazetteer no. 14) ...... 122

Mound M (Gazetteer no. 15) ...... 130

Mound N (Gazetteer no. 16) ...... 130

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_r1_.indd 4 30-11-2017 14:30:57 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 5 24/11/17 10:45 The central parts ...... 147 The eastern area ...... 157 Artefacts ...... 160 Main results and reconstruction ...... 162

Mound O (Gazetteer no. 17) ...... 167

Mound P (Gazetteer no. 18) ...... 188

Mackay Tomb 29 (Gazetteer no. 28) ...... 195

Mackay Tomb 30 (Gazetteer no. 29) ...... 201

Mound OA 204 (Gazetteer no. 32) ...... 208

Mound BBM no. 62.754 ...... 217

Royal Mound 8 (Gazetteer no. 40) ...... 220 External architecture ...... 220 Internal architecture ...... 224 The central parts ...... 229 Artefacts ...... 232

Al Maqsha Royal Mound ...... 246

Dating by artefactual evidence ...... 249

Survey of previously excavated A’ali mounds ...... 255

5. Carbon sampling and radiocarbon-dating ...... 265 Mound A (Gazetteer no. 2) ...... 266 Mound E (Gazetteer no. 7) ...... 267 Mound L (Gazetteer no. 14) ...... 267 Mound N (Gazetteer no. 16) ...... 268 Mound O (Gazetteer no. 17) ...... 269 Mackay Tomb 29 (Gazetteer no. 28) ...... 270 Mound OA 204 (Gazetteer no. 32) ...... 271 Royal Mound 8 (Gazetteer no. 40) ...... 272 Bahrain Burial Mound no. 60.788 (Aziz Mound/Gazetteer no. 38) ...... 272 Mound OA 208 (Gazetteer no. 33) ...... 273 Additional radiocarbon dated burial mounds ...... 273 Al Maqsha Royal Mound ...... 273 Mound OA 514 (Janabiyah Chiey Cemetery) ...... 274 Bahrain Burial Mound no. 6.370 (Mound 53 Janabiyah Chiey Cemetery) ...... 275 Mound OA 695 (Bahrain Burial Mound no. 20.907 Wadi as-Sail)...... 277 Mound OA 252 (Unknown BBM no., Dar Kulayb Mound Cemetery) ...... 277

6. Burial and death rituals ...... 279 Burial and death ritual ...... 279 The intermediary period ...... 279 The nal ceremony ...... 281

Anthropology and politics of royal death ...... 285 Politics of dynastic succession ...... 285 The spatial logic of dynastic cemeteries...... 286 The royal remains ...... 287 Royal burial monuments ...... 287

107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 6 24/11/17 10:45 The central parts ...... 147 Royal death in Babylonia and the Upper Euphrates ...... 288 The eastern area ...... 157 Mourning rituals and the phase of separation ...... 288 Artefacts ...... 160 The mortuary chapel (ki-a-naĝ / bīt kispim) ...... 290 Main results and reconstruction ...... 162 The burial ritual and rites of passage and incorporation ...... 290 Mound O (Gazetteer no. 17) ...... 167 The rites of succession ...... 291 Mound P (Gazetteer no. 18) ...... 188 The ascension to heaven ritual ...... 292 Mackay Tomb 29 (Gazetteer no. 28) ...... 195 The cult of past kings ...... 293 Mackay Tomb 30 (Gazetteer no. 29) ...... 201 The afterlife ...... 294

Mound OA 204 (Gazetteer no. 32) ...... 208

Mound BBM no. 62.754 ...... 217 7. The origins and evolution of the burial mounds ...... 297

Royal Mound 8 (Gazetteer no. 40) ...... 220 Origin of Dilmun’s burial mound tradition...... 297 External architecture ...... 220 Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti mainland sites ...... 299 Internal architecture ...... 224 Evolution of Dilmun’s burial mound tradition ...... 309 The central parts ...... 229 The Early Type ...... 309 Artefacts ...... 232 The Late Type...... 324 Competing forms of burial ...... 335 Al Maqsha Royal Mound ...... 246

Dating by artefactual evidence ...... 249 8 Social status typology and relative chronology ...... 341 Survey of previously excavated A’ali mounds ...... 255 Selected architectural features ...... 341 Chamber and alcoves ...... 341 5. Carbon sampling and radiocarbon-dating ...... 265 Access and doorway ...... 348 Mound A (Gazetteer no. 2) ...... 266 External features ...... 349 Mound E (Gazetteer no. 7) ...... 267 Correspondence analysis ...... 350 Mound L (Gazetteer no. 14) ...... 267 Chamber orientation ...... 353 Mound N (Gazetteer no. 16) ...... 268 Principal component analysis ...... 355 Mound O (Gazetteer no. 17) ...... 269 Chronology of Royal Mound 8 and Mound N...... 357 Mackay Tomb 29 (Gazetteer no. 28) ...... 270 Conclusions on social stratigraphy and typological chronology ...... 361 Mound OA 204 (Gazetteer no. 32) ...... 271 Horizontal stratigraphy and spatial analysis ...... 363 Royal Mound 8 (Gazetteer no. 40) ...... 272 The relative typological chronology of radiocarbon dated Royal Mounds ...... 370 Bahrain Burial Mound no. 60.788 (Aziz Mound/Gazetteer no. 38) ...... 272 Mound OA 208 (Gazetteer no. 33) ...... 273 9. Radiocarbon chronology based on Bayesian modelling Additional radiocarbon dated burial mounds ...... 273 By Steffen Terp Laursen and Jesper Olsen ...... 371 Al Maqsha Royal Mound ...... 273 Mound OA 514 (Janabiyah Chiey Cemetery) ...... 274 The Bayesian model “Royal Sequence” ...... 371 ...... Bahrain Burial Mound no. 6.370 (Mound 53 Janabiyah Chiey Cemetery) 275 Results ...... 374 Mound OA 695 (Bahrain Burial Mound no. 20.907 Wadi as-Sail)...... 277 Mound OA 252 (Unknown BBM no., Dar Kulayb Mound Cemetery) ...... 277 10. Conclusion and discussion ...... 377

Historic developments – a sketch ...... 379 6. Burial and death rituals ...... 279 Discussion ...... 390 Burial and death ritual ...... 279 The Amorite issue and social organization ...... 390 The intermediary period ...... 279 Tomb building ...... 392 The nal ceremony ...... 281 Burial rituals ...... 393 ...... Anthropology and politics of royal death 285 The institution of the Royal Cemetery ...... 394 ...... Politics of dynastic succession 285 The spatial logic of dynastic cemeteries...... 286 The royal remains ...... 287 Royal burial monuments ...... 287

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 6 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 7 24/11/17 10:45 Appendix 1. A’ali pottery in Mumbai By Steffen Terp Laursen ...... 397

Bibliography ...... 401

Appendix 2. Analysis of bitumen from the Royal Mounds By Thomas Van de Velde ...... 403

Early Dilmun period bitumen ...... 403 Analysis of the data ...... 405 Bibliography ...... 410

Appendix 3. The stone building materials By Steffen Terp Laursen ...... 413

Stone types ...... 413 Sources ...... 413 Samples ...... 416 Bibliography ...... 419

Appendix 4. Ceremonial platform Mound OA 256 By Steffen Terp Laursen ...... 421

Bibliography ...... 422

Appendix 5. Inscriptions from the Royal Mounds of A’ali (Bahrain) and Related Texts By Gianni Marchesi ...... 425

§ 1. The Inscriptions from A’ali ...... 425 § 2. Related texts ...... 427 § 4. Dilmun’s kings and Dilmunite kingship...... 428 § 5. The question of Ag/karum ...... 430 Abbreviations ...... 433 Bibliography ...... 434

Acknowledgements ...... 439

Bibliography ...... 441

107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 8 24/11/17 10:45 Appendix 1. A’ali pottery in Mumbai By Steffen Terp Laursen ...... 397 1. Introduction

Bibliography ...... 401

Appendix 2. Analysis of bitumen from the Royal Mounds By Thomas Van de Velde ...... 403

Early Dilmun period bitumen ...... 403 Analysis of the data ...... 405 Bibliography ...... 410 After millennia with a low degree of social organiza- ideological and political process aimed at securing the tion, several groups within the Near Eastern societies dynastic line of succession, cementing the royal family’s Appendix 3. The stone building materials initiated the process of state formation. Within any hierarchical position and legitimizing the incumbent By Steffen Terp Laursen ...... 413 given society and region particular attention should monarch’s right to rule. Located below palaces, royal be paid to these rst attempts at state building because tombs were controlled and the cult of the dead royal Stone types ...... 413 they took place without an existing plan to which one family was exclusive and private. In contrast the vis- Sources ...... 413 could turn for guidance. In setting up fundamental ually prominent dynastic cemeteries were more inte- Samples ...... 416 institutions of statecraft such societies had to conceive grated institutions where extensive state rituals could be Bibliography ...... 419 their own solutions in provisioning the local require- performed in the public sphere. The makeup of the royal ments, possibly with the aid of inspiration from neigh- cemetery as an institution has the potential to reveal bouring states. Consequently, whilst we tend to focus many important aspects about an early state and the Appendix 4. Ceremonial platform Mound OA 256 on their similarities, the structure of early states must conception of its institution of kingship and political By Steffen Terp Laursen ...... 421 have been rather diverse. When exploring ancient states power. Bibliography ...... 422 N. Yoffee has pointed to the advantages of using an The purpose of this study is to examine the Royal analytical approach that focuses on individual institu- Cemetery and Kingship as institutions in Early Dilmun tions (: -). It is possible to explore through society, c. - BC. The features of kingship under Appendix 5. Inscriptions from the Royal Mounds the lens of a carefully selected institution from which consideration are those pertaining to the of ce of, and of A’ali (Bahrain) and Related Texts data can be made available the complexity and unique government by, a king. The absence of written sources By Gianni Marchesi ...... 425 characteristics of an ancient society and the evolution of from Dilmun means that the institution of kingship has

§ 1. The Inscriptions from A’ali ...... 425 its organization. Ideally, an institution-level approach to be indirectly addressed since the principle evidence should be adopted without forcing the available data is archaeological, in the form of public architecture and § 2. Related texts ...... 427 into a single theoretically prede ned template. royal tombs. The core of the current study is formed by § 4. Dilmun’s kings and Dilmunite kingship...... 428 There are particular types of institutions, which in the results of a series of new excavations at the Royal § 5. The question of Ag/karum ...... 430 one form or another, almost invariably seem to have Mounds of A’ali in Bahrain. This evidence alongside Abbreviations ...... 433 been present in state societies and the presence of a re-examination of previous data from the site and Bibliography ...... 434 these have become de ning traits in the classi cation other burial mounds of Bahrain sets out to write a new of early states. These individual institutions are not chapter in the archaeology of Early Dilmun society. Acknowledgements ...... 439 of primary concern here, but for established states the The site of the royal mounds at the village of A'ali in types of institutions into which resources were allo- the centre of Bahrain consists of a collection of extraor- cated depended on a combination of economy, politics, dinarily large burial mounds lying north of a compact Bibliography ...... 441 historic conditions and established traditions. In the cemetery of normal-sized burial mounds. In the course rst attempts of early societies to construct states one of this study it will be argued that in the northern distri- speci c important institution recurrently seems to have bution of larger burial mounds there existed a distinct developed in tandem with the emergence of the state, Royal Cemetery proper which consisted of the to namely that of the royal cemetery. largest and northernmost burial mounds (cf. Fig.- below). In general, there is a very strong association between The burial mounds are generally assumed to date the advent of state-building and the introduction of a from around - BC and for a long time there political authority based on kingship. Royal cemeteries has been speculation about the association of the larg- often developed either in an intramural location, such est of these tombs with the rulers of Dilmun. In spite as within a palace, or in full public view at a visually of almost years of sporadic research, the data on prominent location. Both types appeared to be part of an A’ali, prior to this project, failed to provide conclusive

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 8 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_r1_.indd 30-11-2017 0:40:12 evidence to support or reject this assertion. The gaps in sented, the following chapter has been dedicated to our knowledge are not only related to the chronology burial and death rituals. Special focus is placed on of the burial mounds but also to the social span of the important theoretical aspects, and additional ethno- hierarchy that is represented at the site. graphic, anthropologic and historic analogies which are central to the analysis are put forth (Chapter ). In The study presented in this book provides conclusive Chapter the origin of the burial mound tradition is evidence in support of the A’ali cemetery’s function in explored through a brief survey of the Pan-Arabian bur- Dilmun as the royal cemetery of a dynasty of Amorite ial mound phenomenon and analysis of the evolution ancestry. Furthermore, the absolute dating of the royal of Early Dilmun burial customs. Hereafter follows anal- mounds is presented and based on a reliable sequence ysis of the architecture of the burial mounds aimed at of archaeological data and radiocarbon dates. Targeted creating a typology of social status and relative chronol- investigations into the vast corpus of archaeological ogy of the royal mounds (Chapter ). The radiocarbon data generated from the burial mounds of Bahrain dates from burial mounds positively identi ed in the reveal new aspects of the ideology behind the Dilmu- social status analysis as royal tombs and the established nite burial rituals opening up this aspect to a more relative chronology are subsequently used to determine informed and detailed analysis. more accurate absolute dates of each royal tomb by This volume begins with a brief introduction to the means of Bayesian modelling (Chapter co-authored previous investigations at the Royal Mounds of A’ali with J. Olsen). The nal chapter presents the broader and a few central events in the history of the archae- conclusions drawn from this study (Chapter ). ological site (Chapter ). Following this overview of Five appendices follow. Appendix provides a the research history of the royal mounds, a selected presentation of the Early Dilmun pottery from A’ali corpus of data from the previous excavations including stored in India, Appendix presents the analysis of photos and plans is presented in a comprehensive Gaz- the bitumen sampled from the royal mounds (by T. etteer (Chapter ). A substantial part of this book is then Van der Velde), Appendix contains data on the main devoted to the presentation of the data from the recent types of stone used as building material in the A’ali investigations at A’ali by the Bahrain-Moesgaard team mounds, Appendix presents a platform mound from (Chapter ). A short chapter presents the systematic the A’ali cemetery previously excavated by the Danish sampling of ancient carbon from the chambers and the expedition, and the cuneiform inscriptions found in resulting radiocarbon dates (Chapter ). the royal mounds are dealt with by G. Marchesi in After the empirical foundations have been pre- Appendix .

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 10 24/11/17 10:45 evidence to support or reject this assertion. The gaps in sented, the following chapter has been dedicated to our knowledge are not only related to the chronology burial and death rituals. Special focus is placed on 2. The early explorers and of the burial mounds but also to the social span of the important theoretical aspects, and additional ethno- hierarchy that is represented at the site. graphic, anthropologic and historic analogies which exploration history of A’ali are central to the analysis are put forth (Chapter ). In The study presented in this book provides conclusive Chapter the origin of the burial mound tradition is evidence in support of the A’ali cemetery’s function in explored through a brief survey of the Pan-Arabian bur- Dilmun as the royal cemetery of a dynasty of Amorite ial mound phenomenon and analysis of the evolution ancestry. Furthermore, the absolute dating of the royal of Early Dilmun burial customs. Hereafter follows anal- mounds is presented and based on a reliable sequence ysis of the architecture of the burial mounds aimed at of archaeological data and radiocarbon dates. Targeted creating a typology of social status and relative chronol- investigations into the vast corpus of archaeological ogy of the royal mounds (Chapter ). The radiocarbon data generated from the burial mounds of Bahrain dates from burial mounds positively identi ed in the Amongst the populations of Bahrain and the adjacent tells" ([Khayr]: ..). Sheikh Nasr, who saw reveal new aspects of the ideology behind the Dilmu- social status analysis as royal tombs and the established mainland there has obviously always been an awareness it as his obligation to exercize hospitality, received the nite burial rituals opening up this aspect to a more relative chronology are subsequently used to determine of the visible traces of "the ancients" which surrounded Englishman as his guest in Bahrain. As part of this com- informed and detailed analysis. more accurate absolute dates of each royal tomb by them. The arrangement of these relics in a linear histori- munication the Persian Vizier M. Astarabadi, who rep- This volume begins with a brief introduction to the means of Bayesian modelling (Chapter co-authored cal sequence did not evolve until the rise of archaeology. resented the de facto overlord of Sheikh Nasr, expressed previous investigations at the Royal Mounds of A’ali with J. Olsen). The nal chapter presents the broader Because of the fact that during the Age of Enlightenment extreme discontent with the Sheikh for hosting this and a few central events in the history of the archae- conclusions drawn from this study (Chapter ). modern historic and ultimately archaeological thought Englishman and for having agreed to his request to ological site (Chapter ). Following this overview of Five appendices follow. Appendix provides a emerged in Europe, European agents have dominated wander around the island in order to observe its ancient the research history of the royal mounds, a selected presentation of the Early Dilmun pottery from A’ali the early archaeological exploration of Arabia. ruins and dig in its lands and tells. It appears that the corpus of data from the previous excavations including stored in India, Appendix presents the analysis of Persians felt certain that the Englishman’s interest in photos and plans is presented in a comprehensive Gaz- the bitumen sampled from the royal mounds (by T. An anonymous Englishman, before Bahrain’s ancient remains were merely a pretext for etteer (Chapter ). A substantial part of this book is then Van der Velde), Appendix contains data on the main spying. He outright calls Sheikh Nasr naïve for tell- devoted to the presentation of the data from the recent types of stone used as building material in the A’ali ing the Christian Englishman about the conditions investigations at A’ali by the Bahrain-Moesgaard team mounds, Appendix presents a platform mound from Less than years after Carsten Niebuhr, the last sur- in the Gulf and Bahrain. As an alternative to the per- (Chapter ). A short chapter presents the systematic the A’ali cemetery previously excavated by the Danish viving member of the Danish expedition to Arabia Felix haps not unjusti ed concern of the Persian vizier, it is sampling of ancient carbon from the chambers and the expedition, and the cuneiform inscriptions found in had passed by Bahrain in without setting foot on equally possible that this Englishman was a pioneer resulting radiocarbon dates (Chapter ). the royal mounds are dealt with by G. Marchesi in the islands (Hansen : -), another European antiquarian of the sort that appeared during the Age After the empirical foundations have been pre- Appendix . apparently disembarked with the purpose of exploring of Enlightenment. Whether the Royal Mounds of A’ali the area.1 The unknown Englishman in question visited were explored on this visit remains entirely unknown, Bahrain during the reign of Shaikh Nasr Al Madhkur (c. however, given their impressive appearance it appears -) and his interest in the ancient monuments most likely that they were the focus of some attention. of Bahrain is the earliest documented. Our knowledge of this visit is exceedingly scarce and is only known to Captain (later Sir) Edward Law us through correspondence between the Qajar dynasty of Persia’s Minister for Internal Affairs (Vizier) Mirza Durand, - Mahdi Khaan Astarabadi and Sheikh Nasr. A transcript Captain Durand, who carried the title of First Assistant of the relevant Arabic paragraphs in these letters is to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, arrived in included at p. . Bahrain in with orders to survey the Island’s antiq- The correspondence in question was reproduced uities (Rice : ). The background for Durand’s in the manuscript of Nāṣir bin Jawhar bin Mubarak visit and the impressive list of discoveries he made in al-Khayr (-) who listed a paper published in Bahrain is treated elsewhere by Rice (: -) and India in as his source.2 The manuscript of al-Khayr of signi cance here are the excavations he undertook was published by A. al-Shuqair ([Khayr post hum]). in and around the Royal Cemetery of A’ali (Durand According to the letters, the Englishman had requested a and b). permission to start “investigating the hills of Bahrain (bur- It is from Captain Durand that we have the earli- ial mounds) and digging [i.e., excavating] its lands and est account of the Royal Cemetery of A’ali, which he

1 I cordially thank Dr. Abdulla Al Sulaii for bringing this informaion to my atenion. Thanks are also due to Dr. Waleed M. Al-Sadeqi for advice relaing to this mater. 2 Al-Habl Al-Mateen no. 13. 1329 Hijri (1911).

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 10 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 11 24/11/17 10:45 described as “a most singular group of mounds… they Persian Gulf only to return in May and stay until number about to … all being of a size to ensure notice.” March .3 We further know that the of cers were (Durand a: ). During a period from March to April active after Durand, but before the arrival of Mr. and , , Durand excavated two burial mounds near the Mrs. Bent in (Bent a and below). In Mrs. Mabel A’ali village and he thus also became the rst of cial Bent’s journal entry for February th, she mentions excavator of Bahrain’s burial mounds on record. that some mounds in A’ali had been opened by Durand Durand commenced his work by excavating a burial and of cers of the Sphinx and that: “they found very little” mound in the western periphery of the royal cemetery (Brisch : ; [Mrs. Bent ]). On February th where he encountered a stone built central chamber in Mrs. Mabel Bent further noted in her journal that the shape of a capital Latin letter H (see Chapter : no. of cers of the Sphinx had, on that day, paid a visit to ). The second mound he investigated – subsequently their excavation camp at Mound B (Brisch : ; [Mrs. named Mound A by F.B. Prideaux (see below) – is one of Bent ]). The British Museum holds no information the largest burial mounds in Bahrain and belongs to the about the Sphinx's activities in A’ali, but according to exclusive group, which constitutes the royal cemetery Julian Reade the British Museum records reveal that (see Chapter : no. ). Durand was assisted by a detach- two of the ship’s of cers, by the names of Christian and ment of the st Native Infantry and Captain Pringle Henderson, corresponded with the British Museum from HMS Vulture and thus had ample access to explo- on another matter (: ). The antiquarian interest sives. In the internal version of his report he explicitly demonstrated by these two individuals may be taken states that he repeatedly used gunpowder to blow his as an indication that they could have been involved in way into the mound (a: ). Once Durand reached the alleged excavations at A’ali. Moreover, the presence the central stone built chamber of Mound A he found in in Mound O (Chapter : no. ) of “…a cutting that this, probably in part due to his harsh method of made horizontally across its summit in fairly recent times…” entry, had caved in. Consequently, large fallen stones and signs of a similar intervention at Mound P (Chap- left either by his series of gunpowder blasts or earlier ter : no. ) led Prideaux to propose that these two tomb raiders prevented Durand from exploring the mounds likely were those which had been entered by interior of the mound (Durand a: -). the unnamed of cers of the Sphinx (Prideaux : ). The few nds which Durand recovered in A’ali were presumably kept along with his other artefacts James Theodore and Mabel Bent, from Bahrain including the famous foot shaped stone th th fragment with the cuneiform inscription “Palace of - February Ri’mum, Servant of Inzak, of Akarum” (see Appendix In the self-proclaimed globetrotters and excavators ). The latter stone is known to have been destroyed Theodore and Mabel Bent made a brief stop in Bah- during the Blitz bombing of London in World War II rain and obtained permission from the ruler of Bahrain (Reade and Burleigh : ) and it is almost certain Sheikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa to excavate two mounds at that Durand’s other nds from the A’ali mounds shared A’ali (Fig. ) (Bent b). The purpose of their investi- the same fate. gation was to ascertain the date and cultural af nity of the burial mounds (Bent a: ) and was inspired by Of cers of HMS Sphinx after May Durand’s earlier report. The Bents excavated a mound in the periphery of the Royal Cemetery proper (Chap- th and before February ter : no. ) and a very large mound – subsequently The next activity at A’ali on record is loosely assigned named Mound B by Prideaux – which should probably to ‘of cers of HMS Sphinx’. The exact time and circum- be assigned to the Royal Cemetery proper (Chapter stances of this operation still evade us, but it is possi- : no. ). In Mound B, which was dug rst, the Bents ble to extract some basic information from the scanty found a large H-shaped chamber superimposed over evidence available. The Sphinx was commissioned for a chamber of a corresponding layout and thus became service in October and from this time contempo- the rst to document a classic two-tiered Dilmun burial rary newspaper reports place her outside the Persian chamber. Importantly, in her diary Mabel Bent stated Gulf until May . In February the ship left the about their smaller mound that it “…turned out to be of

3 Thanks are due to anonymous member of the ‘World Naval Ships Forums’ Navalis for help in locaing the relevant records with informaion about the whereabouts of HMS Sphinx.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 12 24/11/17 10:45 described as “a most singular group of mounds… they Persian Gulf only to return in May and stay until number about to … all being of a size to ensure notice.” March .3 We further know that the of cers were (Durand a: ). During a period from March to April active after Durand, but before the arrival of Mr. and , , Durand excavated two burial mounds near the Mrs. Bent in (Bent a and below). In Mrs. Mabel A’ali village and he thus also became the rst of cial Bent’s journal entry for February th, she mentions excavator of Bahrain’s burial mounds on record. that some mounds in A’ali had been opened by Durand Durand commenced his work by excavating a burial and of cers of the Sphinx and that: “they found very little” mound in the western periphery of the royal cemetery (Brisch : ; [Mrs. Bent ]). On February th where he encountered a stone built central chamber in Mrs. Mabel Bent further noted in her journal that the shape of a capital Latin letter H (see Chapter : no. of cers of the Sphinx had, on that day, paid a visit to ). The second mound he investigated – subsequently their excavation camp at Mound B (Brisch : ; [Mrs. named Mound A by F.B. Prideaux (see below) – is one of Bent ]). The British Museum holds no information the largest burial mounds in Bahrain and belongs to the about the Sphinx's activities in A’ali, but according to exclusive group, which constitutes the royal cemetery Julian Reade the British Museum records reveal that (see Chapter : no. ). Durand was assisted by a detach- two of the ship’s of cers, by the names of Christian and ment of the st Native Infantry and Captain Pringle Henderson, corresponded with the British Museum from HMS Vulture and thus had ample access to explo- on another matter (: ). The antiquarian interest sives. In the internal version of his report he explicitly demonstrated by these two individuals may be taken states that he repeatedly used gunpowder to blow his as an indication that they could have been involved in way into the mound (a: ). Once Durand reached the alleged excavations at A’ali. Moreover, the presence the central stone built chamber of Mound A he found in in Mound O (Chapter : no. ) of “…a cutting that this, probably in part due to his harsh method of made horizontally across its summit in fairly recent times…” entry, had caved in. Consequently, large fallen stones and signs of a similar intervention at Mound P (Chap- left either by his series of gunpowder blasts or earlier ter : no. ) led Prideaux to propose that these two tomb raiders prevented Durand from exploring the mounds likely were those which had been entered by interior of the mound (Durand a: -). the unnamed of cers of the Sphinx (Prideaux : ). The few nds which Durand recovered in A’ali Fig. 1. Theodore Bent and local dignitaries at A’ali. Photograph was taken by Mrs. Mabel Bent in (reproduced after Bent & Bent : ). were presumably kept along with his other artefacts James Theodore and Mabel Bent, from Bahrain including the famous foot shaped stone th th fragment with the cuneiform inscription “Palace of - February Ri’mum, Servant of Inzak, of Akarum” (see Appendix In the self-proclaimed globetrotters and excavators the same plan [as their larger mound] on a smaller scale.” in A’ali she made two charming sketches in the margin ). The latter stone is known to have been destroyed Theodore and Mabel Bent made a brief stop in Bah- (Brisch : ; [Mrs. Bent ] brackets are mine).4 of her journal (Figs. and ). Most of the nds made by during the Blitz bombing of London in World War II rain and obtained permission from the ruler of Bahrain T. Bent proposed that ivories found in the cham- the Bents including the copper and ivory fragments are (Reade and Burleigh : ) and it is almost certain Sheikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa to excavate two mounds at bers of Mound B showed a Phoenician origin (Bent now with the British Museum (Reade & Burleigh ). that Durand’s other nds from the A’ali mounds shared A’ali (Fig. ) (Bent b). The purpose of their investi- a: ); a suggestion for which he had probably After having read his obligatory paper at the Royal the same fate. gation was to ascertain the date and cultural af nity of been inspired by a comparable statement proffered Geographical Society at the Evening Meeting, Novem- the burial mounds (Bent a: ) and was inspired by previously by Durand (a: ). Be that as it may, ber th , Mr. Bent deposited glass plate negatives Of cers of HMS Sphinx after May Durand’s earlier report. The Bents excavated a mound the idea never really became accepted by the scholarly of their Bahrain photos with the Society. Regrettably, in the periphery of the Royal Cemetery proper (Chap- community and was soon disputed (Hogarth : ) they were discarded around due to their poor th and before February ter : no. ) and a very large mound – subsequently and what eventually became known as Bent’s ‘Phoeni- condition (pers. comm. Gerald Brisch).5 The next activity at A’ali on record is loosely assigned named Mound B by Prideaux – which should probably cian Hypothesis’ was by the ’s considered entirely to ‘of cers of HMS Sphinx’. The exact time and circum- be assigned to the Royal Cemetery proper (Chapter disproven (Bowen : ). As had been the case with stances of this operation still evade us, but it is possi- : no. ). In Mound B, which was dug rst, the Bents the excavations of Durand those of the Bents did not in André Jouannin, ble to extract some basic information from the scanty found a large H-shaped chamber superimposed over any satisfactory way resolve the question of the origin In a French or Belgian national by the name of evidence available. The Sphinx was commissioned for a chamber of a corresponding layout and thus became of the burial mounds. As alluded to above, Mrs. Mabel André Jouannin arrived in Bahrain on his way to Bagh- service in October and from this time contempo- the rst to document a classic two-tiered Dilmun burial Bent was a keen journal writer (Brisch ; ; ) dad and Mosul and conducted a small excavation in rary newspaper reports place her outside the Persian chamber. Importantly, in her diary Mabel Bent stated and she wrote a short but vivid account of their stay in A’ali. Even though his A’ali work was subsequently Gulf until May . In February the ship left the about their smaller mound that it “…turned out to be of Bahrain. In connection with the excavation of Mound B published in the Mémoires de la Délègation en Perse, he

4 Whether Mabel Bent here meant that the chamber of the smaller mound also was of the two-iered type is less clear. 3 Thanks are due to anonymous member of the ‘World Naval Ships Forums’ Navalis for help in locaing the relevant records 5 Gerald Brisch has also kindly informed me that no original documentaion from the Bents’ Bahrain excavaion is deposited with informaion about the whereabouts of HMS Sphinx. with the Hellenic Society in London.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 12 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 13 24/11/17 10:45 Fig. 2. Sketch drawing in Mrs. Bent’s diary (Joint Library Diary Fig. 3. Sketch drawing in Mrs. Bent’s diary (Joint Library Number ()) dated th of February showing Mr. T. Bent Diary Number ()) dated th of February showing the and the “diggers” commencing work on their larger mound. © workman Murad working on the larger mound. © Gerald Brisch, Gerald Brisch, reproduced by permission of the Joint Library of reproduced by permission of the Joint Library of the Hellenic and the Hellenic and Roman Societies. Roman Societies.

6 I cordially thank Dr. Julian Reade for bringing a copy of this leter to my atenion.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 14 24/11/17 10:45 Fig. 2. Sketch drawing in Mrs. Bent’s diary (Joint Library Diary Fig. 3. Sketch drawing in Mrs. Bent’s diary (Joint Library Number ()) dated th of February showing Mr. T. Bent Diary Number ()) dated th of February showing the and the “diggers” commencing work on their larger mound. © workman Murad working on the larger mound. © Gerald Brisch, Gerald Brisch, reproduced by permission of the Joint Library of reproduced by permission of the Joint Library of the Hellenic and the Hellenic and Roman Societies. Roman Societies.

was not of cially associated with the French Delega- In the letter L.W. King refers to a visit of “…a certain tion as one would expect. Conversely, Jouannin was Monsieur André Jouannin...[who]…stopped at Bahrein and associated with the Comité de l’Asie Franҫaise where did some digging for a week or two in a mound near the town. he held the position of Secrétaire General. Jouannin He says he found two well-built stone chambers one over the states that he had become intrigued by the burial other full of human and animal bones – evidently it was a mounds of Bahrain after reading the Bents’ report in big mausoleum but he found nothing to show their date or ”Southern Arabia” (Bent & Bent ) and later by that was worth bringing away.” (after D’Andrea: a-b personal inspection of the mounds on September th [bracket is mine]). Fig. 4. map of the Royal Cemetery of A’ali by Commander Walter Hose (after Prideaux : Pl. XVI). (Jouannin : ). Jouannin obtained permission to excavate a mound Lieutenant Colonel Francis Beville from HH Sheikh Isa and began his work by re-investigating the chambers of Mound B which years earlier Prideaux, - had been excavated by the Bents (see Chapter : no. ). The Political Agent to Bahrain, F.B. Prideaux became periphery of the royal cemetery on Prideaux’s own more objects of intrinsic value expressed dissatisfaction Jouannin then proceeded to dig a tunnel into a mound the rst major excavator of the burial mounds of initiative and at his expense. He is responsible for intro- with the outcome of his excavations and concludes his located immediately south of the Royal Cemetery Bahrain and the most active at the Royal Cemetery ducing the current alphabetic lettering system of the report to the Archaeological Survey of India by stating proper which later was named Mound D by Prideaux proper. In he began excavation in A’ali on behalf A’ali mounds which names them in order from A to P that his results had been “meagre” (: ). (see Chapter : no. ). Inside Mound D he succeeded of the Archeological Department of the Government according to the time of their excavation. Prideaux was Until now the only existing documentation of the in locating the upper chamber of a two-tiered chamber of India. As with those who preceded him, the inves- aided in matters of surveying by Commander Walter grave goods recovered in the mounds excavated structure which contained the ried remains of a burial tigation of Prideaux was of cially motivated by “… Hose of HMS Redbreast who prepared the rst map of by Prideaux is a photo which shows an arrangement and various grave goods (Jouannin : -). the question of the origin of the necropolis” (: ) and the Royal Cemetery (Fig. ). Unfortunately, no exca- of complete and fragmented pottery vessels on a table It has, until now, been unclear if some of Jouannin’s “…if any inscriptions existed within these mounds…” vation plans made it into the publication even (Fig. ) as well as a photo of two beads and a gold discoveries from Mound D had survived and J. Reade (: ). though Prideaux explicitly refers to “plan-making” ring (Chapter : no. ). A preface to Prideaux’s report inquired about their whereabouts in both the Musées During the cold season from October st to the in his report (: ). Although this makes it likely mentions that the artefacts were to be deposited in the Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire in Brussels and in the Lou- st of March a total of eight mounds (Chapter that excavation plans were drawn up in the course of Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay (Vogel : ). vre in Paris (Reade & Burleigh : ). However, on : nos. and to ) were excavated in and around excavation, and perhaps excluded in the last stages of For a long time all the artefacts appeared to have been the basis of a letter by Cambridge Assyriologist Leon- the Royal Cemetery proper. In addition to these, production, the present author has been unsuccess- lost, but in J. Reade found con rmation in an old ard W. King sent from Mosul on the th of October smaller mounds were opened in the compact mound ful in tracking down any such unpublished material.7 museum guide (Gyani ) that the Prince of Wales addressed to British Museum Philologist E.A.W. Budge cemetery to the south, but the exact location of these Prideaux, who presumably had anticipated nding Museum of Western India had, by all appearance, amal- it can now be concluded with suf cient con dence that are unknown. In the spring of Mounds L and Jouannin did not bring anything with him from A’ali.6 M (Chapter : nos. and ) were excavated in the 7 Searches in pursuit of Prideaux’s materials have been made at a number of insituions including: The Briish Library, Department of Asian and African Studies and the India Oice Map catalogues, The Briish Museum, The Naional Archives 6 I cordially thank Dr. Julian Reade for bringing a copy of this leter to my atenion. (UK), the Naional Archives of India and the Archaeological Survey of India.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 14 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 15 24/11/17 10:45 (BBM no. .) can be seen in the background. To the right the excavated remains of both Mound G (Chap- ter : no. ) and Mound F (Chapter : no. ) appear in the distance with the trenches made years earlier by Prideaux still visible.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 16 24/11/17 10:45 (BBM no. .) can be seen in the background. To the right the excavated remains of both Mound G (Chap- ter : no. ) and Mound F (Chapter : no. ) appear in the distance with the trenches made years earlier by Prideaux still visible.

Ernest John Henry Mackay, Sir Flinders Petrie, one of the founding gures of Egyp- tology, also developed an interest in Bahrain and par- ticularly in understanding what role the island could have played in ancient Egyptian trade. After a failed attempt to recruit T.E. Lawrence (later to earn the epi- Fig. 5. Pottery from the A’ali Mounds (after Prideaux : g. ). thet “of Arabia” in (Rice : -), Petrie in seized the opportunity of his former student Ernest J.H. Mackay being in the region and directed him to work out "the nature of the tombs and their contents" (Rice gamated the objects with another collection (Reade & : -). Burleigh ). In connection with the study at hand the In a brief bibliography Gregory Possehl described present author made further inquiries into the matter Mackay as: “… a solid journeyman archaeologist [and] a and subsequently succeeded in verifying that at least very good excavator for his times” (: ). Early in his pottery vessels from Prideaux’s A’ali excavations have career Mackay had for several years (-) been survived in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu San- occupied with the photography and documentation grahalaya Museum, Mumbai (formerly Prince of Wales of the Theban tombs in Egypt (Possehl : ) and Museum of Western India). The re-located pottery from this valuable experience must have contributed to the Fig. 6. Jacques Cartier (right) and two companions posing on Mound E in . The anonymous Royal Mound BBM no. is A’ali is presented separately in Appendix . quality of his later work in Bahrain. visible in the background. Published by courtesy of the Cartier Heritage Department. © Cartier Heritage Department. Mackay excavated mounds in what he described as “a very brief season’s work at Bahrein” (Mackay : Jacques Cartier, ) and all things considered he managed to docu- The next notable character to enter the scene was cel- ment his work reasonably well. Among those mounds Flinders Petrie while the fate of the rest of the nds, his rama of the Royal Cemetery proper seen from the south ebrated French jeweller Jacques Cartier who, during a which he excavated, were located in and around the drawings and photos remain unaccounted for (Reade (Fig. ). Most interestingly R. Sinclair goes on to speak business trip to the Gulf in spring of , paid a visit to Royal Cemetery proper (Chapter : nos. -), while : ).8 of hitherto unknown German archaeologists: the Royal Mounds of A'ali. Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed the remaining excavations were directed towards “According to recent reports a party of German archæolo- al Ghatam hosted a banquet for J. Cartier in a hunting smaller mounds in the large compact mound cemetery Ronald Sinclair’s uncon rmed report gists who have been working in Bahrein during the past cold camp that was set up in the southern periphery of the to the south. weather have made a number of further discoveries. They Royal Cemetery of A’ali. On this occasion the Sheikh Mackay concluded, incorrectly as it eventually of German archaeologists, appear to have been fortunate in nding some unried tombs, instructed his sons to provide Cartier and his compan- turned out, that “the people who were buried in Bahrein In G. Bibby purchased a copy of the book in which one, at least, of which comprised four separate chambers, each ions with a tour of the burial mounds. Although he did were nomads” and that they had been “brought from some Mackay’s report was printed in preparation for the above the other. In them they found the bones, not only of the not conduct excavations he is mentioned here since part of the mainland” (: ). This unfounded hypoth- Danish Bahrain expedition (Bibby : ). The vol- dead man, but of his wife, slaves, and domesticated animals, he brought a photographer who recorded a number esis of "an island for the dead" or "international burial ume, which incidentally turned out to be Mackay’s all of whom, it is supposed, were sacriced when he died. On of important photos. Aside from taking a photo of the ground" was to persist for a long time (Lamberg-Kar- personal signed copy, contained an article in the form the ground oor the bones of animals, on the rst oor those entrance to Mound B (see Chapter : no. ), which was lovsky ; During-Caspers ) but is now consid- of a newspaper clipping from the "Illustrated Weekly of the slaves; the man himself was interred in solitary state the favoured motif of most th century visitors, he also ered utterly disproven. However, it must be granted of India" dated October , . The newspaper article on the third oor, while the top oor were the skeletons of his recorded informative photos of and from Mound E that Mackay was able to more accurately date the burial which presumably had been enclosed in the book by wives.” (Sinclair : ). which add to our understanding of this and the sur- mounds than any of his predecessors. By comparing the Mackay himself was written by Ronald Sinclair and It has not been possible to obtain any independent rounding monuments (see Chapter : no. ). In one Babylonian vessels he had encountered in the chambers mentions in brief the recent work of Mackay. The article veri cation of this report. The description of the discov- photo Cartier, Mugbil Al Thukair and probably Carti- with examples from Tello (ancient Girsu) and Kish as was accompanied by a unique photo showing a pano- eries allegedly made by German archaeologists seem er’s sales assistant Maurice Richard can be seen posing well as socketed bronze spearheads he found in Meso- on the edge of Prideaux’s excavation trench on Mound potamia with those he found in Bahrain (Mackay : 8 Professor McGuire Gibson, Chicago, kindly informs me that he did not come across Mackay’s Bahrain materials during his own E (Fig. ). The end of the upper chamber’s north-east- ), Mackay proposed an approximate date of - extensive but also unsuccessful search for Mackay’s records on the excavaions at Kish. According to Dr. Joanna Kyin of the ern alcove can be seen in the lower left corner. The BC (: ). The majority of the artefacts found Egypt Exploraion Society there are no records on Mackay in their Archive catalogue. According to Curator Dr. Alice Stevenson the Petrie Museum of Egypian Archaeology also does not hold any of Mackay’s records from Bahrain. Dr. Laurie McNamee of large anonymous and still unexcavated royal mound by Mackay were donated to the British Museum by the University College London Special Collecions has also informed that none of Mackay’s materials are housed there either.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 16 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 17 24/11/17 10:45 Fig. 7. The Royal Mounds of A’ali (after Sinclair ).

more tting to the Royal Cemetery of Ur excavated by Danish Gulf Expedition, - Sir Leonard Woolley between and (Woolley Under the directorship of P.V. Glob, members of the ). However, since Sinclair also mentions Woolley’s Danish Gulf expedition excavated a number of mounds Ur excavation in passing in his introduction, a con- in A’ali during the cold seasons of - and - fusion of "German archaeologists" with the ongoing (Bibby : ). The Danish excavations in A’ali were excavations at Ur can probably be ruled out. a combined research and salvage operation (Højlund : ). In and around the Royal Cemetery proper the expedition investigated the mounds OA , OA Charles Belgrave and the RAF, and OA (Chapter : nos. -) and re-exca- A piece of correspondence between C. Belgrave, advi- vated Mound A (Chapter : no. ). In the large compact sor to the Government of Bahrain and Major T. Hick- mound cemetery to the south and south-east of the inbotham, the British Political Agent in Bahrain dis- Royal Cemetery, smaller mounds were excavated closes an unfortunate episode of systematic removal in "Group-A" and "Group-B" (Bibby : ; Frifelt of stones from the royal mounds. In the years after the : -; Højlund : -). major excavation campaigns of Prideaux and Mackay In Mound OA the chamber was found to have the Royal Mounds of A’ali probably suffered some been recently opened (Højlund : -) and in minor damage due to the stone plundering activi- Mound A the very same fallen capstones which had ties of locals in need of limestone for house construc- prevented Durand from penetrating the chamber in tion and lime burning. However, in C. Belgrave also deterred the Danish expedition from entering learned, to his dismay, that the RAF had set up an “… (Bibby : ). Similarly, in Mound OA the Dan- elaborate stone crushing machine and various other appa- ish team encountered a collapsed chamber which could ratus…on one of the larger mounds…” (Belgrave unpub- not be further explored (Bibby : ). OA pro- lished letter [May th ]). Belgrave subsequently duced a full chamber plan and yielded one of the most found that the stones were intended to be used for the diverse collections of pottery (Højlund : -). construction of an air base on Muharraq island. In a The mounds examined in "Group-A" and "Group-B" letter to Major Hickinbotham, C. Belgrave urged that of the compact mound cemetery represented tombs he should contact the RAF and insist that stones were of two different classes. A population of ’commoners’ instead taken from the smaller burial mounds on the was associated with the Group-B mounds whilst the hills of Riffa where such materials had previously been mounds in the A-group reected the slightly wealthier procured. According to an answer from the RAF six segment of society (Bibby : ). days later, an instruction to cease stone quarrying at A set of painted drinking goblets and three ne ware A’ali was given immediately. Furthermore, the British bowls found broken in the dromos passage of Mound Liaison Of cer regretted the incident and stated that A/OA (see Chapter : no. ) and a small ornamental although permission from the Government of Bahrain gold spiral ("A-Group" Mound OA ) are currently had been obtained, it was the lack of historical knowl- on display in the National Museum of Bahrain while edge on the part of the Air Ministry Works Directorate bone, pottery and artefacts from the remaining mounds that caused them to think that “…one heap of stones are housed at Moesgaard Museum. was as good as another…” (Parker [May rd ]).

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 18 24/11/17 10:45 Abdul Aziz Suweileh, Extract from Nāṣir al-Khayrī Archaeological superintendent Abdul Aziz Suweileh Qalā’id An-Nahrain tareekh Al-Bahrain of the Bahrain National Museum excavated what is Page popularly referred to as the Aziz Mound located to the Wa sulimat ri’asat albilād ila Ashaykh Ghayth wa akhihi Ashaykh Nasr min āal Madhkhoo thuma maāta Ashaykh Ghayth fasaāra Ash- south of the Royal Cemetery proper (Chapter : no. ). aykh Nasr huwa alhaākim almutlaq atasruf fee al-Bahrain tahta The mound is a rare example of a multiple chambered ri’aāyat ad-dawlah al-eeraāniyah al-‘afshāariyah. tomb with multiple shaft entrances. The excavation Wa dhakara ana fee ayaām Ashaykh Nasr jaā’ ila jazā’ir al-Bahrain sayāhan afranjee mina al-inkileez wa nazala dayfan ‘ala Ashaykh plan of the mound was misplaced in the archives of Nasr fa’akrama ashaykh wa fadathu fatalaba hatha mina Ashaykh the National Museum of Bahrain, but a series of draw- Nasr al-idhin lahu bi-siyāaha daākhliyat al-jazāa’ir lil-tafaruj ‘ala āathāriha al-qadeema fa’adhina lahu bidhalika wa lamma balaghat ings of pottery from the mound is available to verify al-akhbaār limasaāmi’ ad-dawlah al-eeraāniyah saā’aha dhālik that the mound originally was constructed in the Early al’amal min Ashaykh Nasr wa kataba lahu wazeer daākhiliyatiha Fig. 7. The Royal Mounds of A’ali (after Sinclair ). Dilmun period. Mirza Mahdi Khāan yalumahu wa yuabikhahu ‘ala ma fa’ala mina as-samaāhi lil-inkilizi’ bil-jawlaān fee daākhliyat al-jazaā’ir – fee kitaāb haātha nasuh: Bahrain National Museum, c. , c. “Laqad balaghani anaka ijtama’ta birajulin masihii wa kalamtahu fee more tting to the Royal Cemetery of Ur excavated by Danish Gulf Expedition, - shu’un al-jazaā’ir wa al-khaleej wa taz’aum annahu sayaāhan fasar- and - raka bimanqulaāti khitaābihi wa maqoolaāt iyaābihi wa thahaābihi Sir Leonard Woolley between and (Woolley Under the directorship of P.V. Glob, members of the hata basata lahu bisātan manee’an. ). However, since Sinclair also mentions Woolley’s Danish Gulf expedition excavated a number of mounds Around the National Museum of Bahrain con- Page Ur excavation in passing in his introduction, a con- in A’ali during the cold seasons of - and - ducted a brief investigation of a very large mound in Wa shadata azraka lahu saree’an, ama qara’ta qawlahu ta’alaā: “Wa fusion of "German archaeologists" with the ongoing (Bibby : ). The Danish excavations in A’ali were the Royal Cemetery proper (Chapter : no. ). The lan tarda ‘anka al-yahudu wa la an-nasaraā hatta tatabi’a milata- hum” fa’ini itab’ata hawāahu ba’da an fahimta hawaāhu fa anta excavations at Ur can probably be ruled out. a combined research and salvage operation (Højlund mound was subsequently removed in order to extend idhan min al-halikeen. Wa la takh d janaāhka ila lil-mutaqeen wa : ). In and around the Royal Cemetery proper a modern cemetery. There is no report about what as-salaāmu ‘ala man ita’dh bimawaā’idh allah wa rahmatu allahi wa the expedition investigated the mounds OA , OA was done or found during the investigation and it is barakaātuhu”. Al-imdaā’ – Mahdi. Fakaāna jawaābu ashaykh nasr ‘ala dhalika ma ya’ti: Charles Belgrave and the RAF, and OA (Chapter : nos. -) and re-exca- unknown who was responsible. “Ina ma dhakartum min mukaālamti ma’ al-maseehii wa mawa- A piece of correspondence between C. Belgrave, advi- vated Mound A (Chapter : no. ). In the large compact Plans to build houses prompted the excavation of datii lahu faman ballaghkum ghayr baāligh fa’antum ta’alamoon sor to the Government of Bahrain and Major T. Hick- mound cemetery to the south and south-east of the Mound N around (Chapter : no. ). After the muwadabati fee al-thughoor wa diqati al-umoor mashhoor wa ghayra mankoor. Wa amma basta al-feraāsh wa it’aām an-naās famin inbotham, the British Political Agent in Bahrain dis- Royal Cemetery, smaller mounds were excavated uniqueness of the monument became apparent plans shiyam al-anbiyaā’ al-salateen wa ameeruna lam yuhsin tarkaha wa closes an unfortunate episode of systematic removal in "Group-A" and "Group-B" (Bibby : ; Frifelt to remove the mound were cancelled and the archaeo- as-salaām” - Al-imdaā’ ‘abdukum Nasr. of stones from the royal mounds. In the years after the : -; Højlund : -). logical investigation stopped. Several of the archaeol- Fajaābahu al-wazeer biqawlihi: “Laqad wasalana kitabaka kal- major excavation campaigns of Prideaux and Mackay In Mound OA the chamber was found to have ogists and excavators of the Bahrain National Museum khateeb al-saqi’ lahu ‘ibaraāt wa isharaāt wa tasreehaāt wa talwee- haāt la yanf’ana wa la la yanfa’ak, idh laysa lana kalām al-it’aām the Royal Mounds of A’ali probably suffered some been recently opened (Højlund : -) and in participated in the partial investigation of Mound N. min haythu al-halaāl wa al-haraām falihatha mawdi’ ākhar min qh minor damage due to the stone plundering activi- Mound A the very same fallen capstones which had Before the excavation was halted the rst two north- al-ahkaām wa ’inama kalaāmuna ’ilm as-siyasaāsah wa mawdu’aāt ar-riyaāsah fa ma ashbah halana ma’ak bihāal man qaāl ‘ureehi as-sa- ties of locals in need of limestone for house construc- prevented Durand from penetrating the chamber in ern alcoves were completely exposed and the outline har wa yureeni al-qamar, wa qad balaghani ana ar-rajul al-maseehi tion and lime burning. However, in C. Belgrave also deterred the Danish expedition from entering of the corresponding southern alcoves identi ed. The istajaāzaka fee kash jubaylaāt al-Bahrain wa hafri araādeeha wa learned, to his dismay, that the RAF had set up an “… (Bibby : ). Similarly, in Mound OA the Dan- upper walls of the shaft and the upper portions of the tilaāliha wa inama aghdayt tar Page elaborate stone crushing machine and various other appa- ish team encountered a collapsed chamber which could main chamber were also identi ed. The top of a colossal ‘an thālik wa hamaltuka ‘ala ahsan al-masāalik li’ilmina bihusni ratus…on one of the larger mounds…” (Belgrave unpub- not be further explored (Bibby : ). OA pro- dressed stone door was found protruding from the ll seeratik wa daā’ sareeratik, fa’malu lim tarawana lakum salāah wa lished letter [May th ]). Belgrave subsequently duced a full chamber plan and yielded one of the most of the access shaft. There is no report about what was ta’taqidoonahu injaādit al-falaāh wa assalamu aleikum.” – Imdāa’ Mahdi. found that the stones were intended to be used for the diverse collections of pottery (Højlund : -). found during the investigation but the excavation site Fatra min hadha ana wazeer eerān lam yastahsin dukhul hathā construction of an air base on Muharraq island. In a The mounds examined in "Group-A" and "Group-B" was roughly surveyed (see Chapter : Fig. ). al’ifranji ilā dakhiliyāt aljazā’ir wa lahu dhalika nadharāt wa letter to Major Hickinbotham, C. Belgrave urged that of the compact mound cemetery represented tombs From to the Directorate of Archaeology mulāhadhāt siyasya s’ab idrakaha wa fahmaha ‘ala al-ameer al’arabi’ he should contact the RAF and insist that stones were of two different classes. A population of ’commoners’ excavated A’ali Mound no. season , later formally Wa lilahi fee khalqihi shu’un. Wa hijri, hamala Ashaykh Nasr biquwa bahriya kabira ‘ala instead taken from the smaller burial mounds on the was associated with the Group-B mounds whilst the named Royal Mound (see Chapter : no. ). Run- al-‘arab khalifa, sukāan az-Zubarah Qatar yaqsud tādebuhum wa hills of Riffa where such materials had previously been mounds in the A-group reected the slightly wealthier ning parallel to this excavation was the joint Bahrain alintiqaām minhum bisabab ma ajraohu min alta’diyaāt ‘ala ba’d procured. According to an answer from the RAF six segment of society (Bibby : ). – Moesgaard A’ali excavation project which launched atraaf al-Bahrain “Satrah” wa lama wasalat himayatuhu ila az-Zuba- rah “’areen alasad” … days later, an instruction to cease stone quarrying at A set of painted drinking goblets and three ne ware in October and during this work the majority of A’ali was given immediately. Furthermore, the British bowls found broken in the dromos passage of Mound the excavated Royal mounds were reinvestigated over Liaison Of cer regretted the incident and stated that A/OA (see Chapter : no. ) and a small ornamental three eld seasons (see Chapter ). although permission from the Government of Bahrain gold spiral ("A-Group" Mound OA ) are currently had been obtained, it was the lack of historical knowl- on display in the National Museum of Bahrain while edge on the part of the Air Ministry Works Directorate bone, pottery and artefacts from the remaining mounds 9 Mafaāteeh Al-adab. that caused them to think that “…one heap of stones are housed at Moesgaard Museum. 10 Naqlan ’an jareedat Al-Habl Al-Mateen ali tasdur bil-hind, Rajab – 1329. was as good as another…” (Parker [May rd ]).

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 20 24/11/17 10:45 3. Gazetteer of elite burial mounds previously investigated in A’ali

This gazetteer introduces, in a summarized form, infor- the early s by the Danish Gulf Expedition (Frifelt mation on of the most important burial mounds ) and recently published (Højlund : -). investigated in the Royal Cemetery proper and the adja- The burial mounds R- and R- excavated by the Japa- cent compact mound cemetery of A’ali. The intention of nese Archaeological Mission in in the south-east- the gazetteer is to provide access to data that can other- ern segment of the A’ali Mound Cemetery (Konishi et wise only be pieced together by consulting numerous al. ) are not covered. While the gazetteer includes unpublished reports or older and largely inaccessible all burial mounds known to have been excavated in publications. Background information including the the Royal Cemetery Proper, it must be stressed that history of exploration, graphic documentation, illus- this does not represent an exhaustive list of all burial trations of relevant artefacts and selected numeric data mounds excavated in the compact A’ali Mound Cem- is provided for all the monuments. Fourteen of the etery to date. burial mounds included in the gazetteer are among Artefacts believed to have originated from primary those which were re-investigated during the recent interments are briey mentioned and discussed with Bahrain-Moesgaard excavation campaign (see Chapter emphasis on their chronological dating and the pres- ) and the remaining burial mounds all represent ence of imported materials. To the extent it has been A’ali tombs that can be associated with members of the possible, previously published or unpublished draw- social elite in the Early Dilmun period. ings and photos of relevant objects accompany each As will become apparent in other sections of this entry in the Gazetteer. volume, the Early Dilmun burial ritual was part of an The types of data listed for each burial mound in the extremely formalized system in which the architectural Gazetteer are mostly self-explanatory but the de nitions layout of the chamber varied according to the social of a few entries listed under "Basic data" need to be clar- rank or class of the entombed individual (see Chapter i ed. Mound height refers to the highest recorded height ). Generally the burial mounds included are also the and does not in any case reect the original height of largest known examples to have contained H-shaped the monument. Mound diameter describes the mound chambers and/or comprised of two-tiered cham- and the measurement includes the erosion skirt at the ber construction. Burial mounds with single-tiered foot of the mound. Ring wall diameter refers to the ring T-shaped chambers and a few burial mounds with wall proper which represented the original perimeter exceptional chambers have also been included when of the monument (Fig. : a). Outer ring wall refers to a the particular monument contributes signi cantly to low circular wall that originally surrounded some of our overall understanding of the Royal Cemetery. the largest monuments placed a considerable distance Excluded from this Gazetteer are the hundreds of from the foot of the ring wall proper constituting a sort burial mounds of the Early Dilmun ‘common’ popula- of Temenos wall (Fig. : b). Inner ring wall refers to the cir- tion excavated by the Bahrain Directorate for Archae- cular wall (or walls) that were occasionally constructed ology and the Tunisian expedition in the southern part several meters up on the mound at the level where the of the A’ali Mound Cemetery.1 Also omitted are the ring wall proper ends and is connected by the means so-called A- and B-Group burial mounds excavated in of a horizontal terrace (Fig. : c). Presence/absence is

1 Unpublished excavaions in the A’ali Mound Cemetery known to us are: Area: A’ali South, Seasons 1987-89; Area: A’ali South, Tunisian Expediion, Seasons 1986-88; A’ali Pipeline, Seasons 1987-88; Jary Al Sheikh, Seasons 2000, 2005-08. These campaigns involved the excavaion and removal of as much as 500 burial mounds.

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 20 24/11/17 10:45 107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 21 24/11/17 10:45 produced a highly representative and accurate vector map of the more than , burial mounds that were c known in (Laursen and Johansen ; Laursen b a ), but in the case of the A’ali Mound Cemetery (Fig. ) excavated burial mounds had not been individually identi ed in the project’s GIS. In order to shed new light on the older excavations and facilitate spatial analysis, considerable effort was put into the re-identi cation of the excavated A’ali d mounds. The process of re-identi cation and mapping

Chamber azimuth = X˚ of the excavated burial mounds was severely impeded by the fact that more than % of the mounds in and b around the Royal Cemetery have disappeared since (Fig. ). As a consequence re-identi cation had Entrance to be based on the combined information from historic aerial photos, maps, photos, published descriptions and eld observations. With the exception of Prideaux who published a map in of A’ali naming mounds including those excavated by Durand, the Bents and Jouannin (see Fig. ) no other A’ali excavators produced location plans. Among the investigators whose excavations were most important to relocate were those of Ernest Mackay who did not publish any map of the burial mounds he examined Fig. 8. Cardinal measures indicated on an idealized royal burial mound. in . Fortunately, Dr. Julian Reade had noticed that in Mackay’s personal copy of Prideaux’s report in the "Archaeological Survey of India" now held by the British recorded for these features and the diameter is stated Museum, pencil marks had been added by Mackay to when available. Chamber azimuth gives the number of the printed A’ali map to indicate the location of some of degrees which the longitudinal axis of the central cham- his own excavations. The annotations of Mackay ber is orientated east of Geographical North (Fig. : were presented by Reade in a map that accompanied d). Chamber access to the tombs in the Royal Cemetery his paper and which is reproduced here (Fig. ). mounds is typically either by means of a horizontal Out of the total of burial mounds which Mackay dromos passage or a vertical shaft. In other cases, in par- excavated he marked the names of his Tomb , , , ticular for the vast majority of smaller mounds, there , , , and in pencil. In addition to the eight was no formally constructed chamber access. identi ed by number, three mounds were marked by All measurements are given in the metric system; an "X" suggesting that these were also excavated by him those collated from original publications and reports but that Mackay failed to recall their exact number at using Imperial measurements have been converted. the time of writing (Reade & Burleigh ). Although some data has been incorporated from recent Further con rmation that the numbered mounds are investigations, the entries in the Gazetteer generally identical to those excavated by Mackay can be found represent the state of research before this study. For the on the aerial photos taken approximately years later recently investigated monuments Chapter should be (Fig. ). In the aerial photos it is possible to observe consulted for additional and sometimes more up-to- the trenches Mackay excavated into the mounds and date data. occasionally the resulting spoil left by the base of these mounds. The location of the spoil as they appear in the aerial photos can in some cases be con rmed when Spatial information such are present in Mackay’s own published photos. By comparing the anonymous mounds which Mackay To begin with there was only limited spatial informa- marked with an "X" against the photographic evidence tion available to locate the burial mounds that had been it has been possible to relocate the two larger burial excavated in A’ali. The Bahrain Burial Mound Project mounds Mackay’s Tomb and Tomb , with some

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107642_Royal Mounds_CC17_.indd 22 24/11/17 10:45 produced a highly representative and accurate vector map of the more than , burial mounds that were N A c known in (Laursen and Johansen ; Laursen b a ), but in the case of the A’ali Mound Cemetery (Fig. ) excavated burial mounds had not been individually identi ed in the project’s GIS. In order to shed new light on the older excavations and facilitate spatial analysis, considerable effort was put into the re-identi cation of the excavated A’ali d mounds. The process of re-identi cation and mapping

Chamber azimuth = X˚ of the excavated burial mounds was severely impeded by the fact that more than % of the mounds in and b around the Royal Cemetery have disappeared since (Fig. ). As a consequence re-identi cation had Entrance to be based on the combined information from historic aerial photos, maps, photos, published descriptions and eld observations. With the exception of Prideaux who published a map in of A’ali naming mounds including those excavated by Durand, the Bents and Jouannin (see Fig. ) no other A’ali excavators produced location plans. Among C the investigators whose excavations were most impor- B tant to relocate were those of Ernest Mackay who did not publish any map of the burial mounds he examined Fig. 8. Cardinal measures indicated on an idealized royal burial mound. in . Fortunately, Dr. Julian Reade had noticed that in Mackay’s personal copy of Prideaux’s report in the "Archaeological Survey of India" now held by the British recorded for these features and the diameter is stated Museum, pencil marks had been added by Mackay to when available. Chamber azimuth gives the number of the printed A’ali map to indicate the location of some of degrees which the longitudinal axis of the central cham- his own excavations. The annotations of Mackay D ber is orientated east of Geographical North (Fig. : were presented by Reade in a map that accompanied d). Chamber access to the tombs in the Royal Cemetery his paper and which is reproduced here (Fig. ). mounds is typically either by means of a horizontal Out of the total of burial mounds which Mackay dromos passage or a vertical shaft. In other cases, in par- excavated he marked the names of his Tomb , , , ticular for the vast majority of smaller mounds, there , , , and in pencil. In addition to the eight was no formally constructed chamber access. identi ed by number, three mounds were marked by All measurements are given in the metric system; an "X" suggesting that these were also excavated by him 0 500 m those collated from original publications and reports but that Mackay failed to recall their exact number at using Imperial measurements have been converted. the time of writing (Reade & Burleigh ). Fig. 9. Map of the A’ali Mound Cemetery. Boxes A to D mark the location of detailed maps mentioned in the text. The compact mound Although some data has been incorporated from recent Further con rmation that the numbered mounds are cemetery is comprised by the smaller, densely packed burial mounds. The larger mounds in box A are traditionally called the Royal investigations, the entries in the Gazetteer generally identical to those excavated by Mackay can be found Mounds of A’ali. The overall largest mounds to the north represent the Royal Cemetery proper. represent the state of research before this study. For the on the aerial photos taken approximately years later recently investigated monuments Chapter should be (Fig. ). In the aerial photos it is possible to observe con dence. For the larger mounds Tomb , Tomb and for each entry in the Gazetteer. In total excavation consulted for additional and sometimes more up-to- the trenches Mackay excavated into the mounds and Tomb , a number of potential candidates have been sites were identi ed to a particular burial mound, but date data. occasionally the resulting spoil left by the base of these identi ed but the available information does not suf ce in six cases the identi cation is uncertain to a varying mounds. The location of the spoil as they appear in the to make a nal identi cation. The exact location of the degree (Fig. ). The three burial mounds included in aerial photos can in some cases be con rmed when smaller burial mounds which Prideaux and Mackay this gazetteer as nos. - are located approximately Spatial information such are present in Mackay’s own published photos. both reported as having been excavated in the compact . km south of the Royal Cemetery in the opposite end By comparing the anonymous mounds which Mackay mound cemetery must be considered lost. of the A’ali Mound Cemetery (Fig. ). A few burial To begin with there was only limited spatial informa- marked with an "X" against the photographic evidence Several other larger burial mounds have been suc- mounds not included in the Gazetteer but surveyed tion available to locate the burial mounds that had been it has been possible to relocate the two larger burial cessfully relocated and the evidence on which the indi- during the recent investigations (see below) are also excavated in A’ali. The Bahrain Burial Mound Project mounds Mackay’s Tomb and Tomb , with some vidual re-identi cation was based is briey mentioned located in the south of the cemetery (Fig. :c).

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0 200 m

Fig. 10. Map of the Royal Cemetery of A'ali with currently preserved ( ) burial mounds accentuated in dark blue. The depicted area corresponds to box Fig. :A.

Fig. 11. Sketch map of the Royal Cemetery of A'ali with Mackay’s annotations highlighted in red (adapted after Reade and Burleigh : : g. ).

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