Skip to content
History–Tours
2200BCc. 2200–1750 BC · Bahrain island

Dilmun, the Bronze Age trading hub of the Gulf

Rounded Dilmun burial mounds rising behind a field of wild flowers in Bahrain
Photo: Melanie Münzner, Think Heritage. CC BY-SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Dilmun, praised in Sumerian texts as a pure land and a port of trade, controlled the sea route linking Mesopotamia with the copper of Oman and the cities of the Indus. Its capital lies beneath the mound of Qal'at al-Bahrain, and tens of thousands of burial mounds, including the towering royal tombs at A'ali, still cover the north of the island.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Qal'at al-BahrainExcavated Dilmun city walls beneath a Portuguese-era fort, with a site museum.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: A'ali royal burial moundsHuge earth-and-stone royal tombs rising among the village houses.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Bahrain National Museum, ManamaDilmun seals, grave goods and a reconstructed burial mound.Map ↗

Guides who take you there

History-only · order never for sale
We haven't found an independent history guide for this yet. Guide here? Tell us about your tours.

More from the Ancient World

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.