How it began
The Dilmun Burial Mounds were built on the island of Bahrain during the Early Dilmun period, over about 450 years between roughly 2200 and 1750 BCE. In that period Bahrain became a trade hub of international importance. UNESCO states that the new prosperity allowed the island's inhabitants to develop an elaborate burial tradition that applied to the entire population, not only to its rulers.
How it works
Archaeological evidence shows that the tombs were not built as mounds. Most were single-story, low cylindrical towers. The royal tombs were two-story sepulchral towers with a stepped, ziggurat-like shape and elaborate burial chambers. A feature that UNESCO calls particular to Dilmun is the alcove: a burial chamber could have up to six, depending on the social status of the occupant, and they were usually filled with mortuary gifts. Natural erosion later turned the towers into the mounds seen now.
What changed first
The builders used the less fertile land of the island for these cemeteries. Five different mound types have been identified, and they give clues to the emergence of social hierarchies, from ordinary graves to chieftain mounds and royal mounds. Even so, the basic layout stayed the same through the whole 450-year period. Two of the last Dilmun kings, Ri' Mum and Yagli-'El, have been identified in connection with royal mounds 8 and 10.
What lasted
Because remains of Dilmun settlements are scarce and lie under thick soil, the mounds are the most extensive and visible evidence of Early Dilmun culture. Excavated tombs give a cross section of the society, with thousands of individuals of different age, gender and class. UNESCO describes their number, density, scale and construction details as globally unique.
Where it stands today
About 11,774 burial mounds survive across 21 archaeological sites in the western part of Bahrain, including 17 royal mounds set within the village of A'ali. Most have never been excavated. The sites are registered as national monuments under a 1995 antiquities decree, are administered by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, and were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019.
