The house plans
Stone walls tracing the streets.
O.Mustafin — CC0 · O.Mustafin — CC0 · O.Mustafin — CC0 · O.Mustafin — CC0 · Stefan Krasowski — CC BY 2.0
Saar Archaeological Site is the remains of a Dilmun settlement in the town of Saar, west of Manama, covering about 2.5 hectares with low stone houses, streets and a temple, plus a large burial ground beside it. It is one of the clearest places in Bahrain to see how Bronze Age people lived, not just where they were buried. The site was found in a 1977 survey and first dug between 1977 and 1979. The London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition then worked here between 1990 and 1999, led by Robert Killick, Jane Moon and Harriet Crawford. Seals found here date to about 2050 to 1800 BC, and the Saar temple is believed to have played a role in marking the summer solstice. You walk among low stone walls tracing the plan of houses and streets, and see the temple, circular tombs and small stone pillars. The houses yielded copper fishhooks, bitumen, pearl-oyster shells and several hundred seals, an unusual number for a small town that points to the role of trade here. Don't expect tall buildings or museum displays, as the place relies on imagination, so read a little before you come. The site is 4 km from the Dilmun Burial Mounds and 5 km from Barbar Temple in a straight line, and completes the picture of Dilmun alongside them; Bahrain National Museum displays finds from this civilisation. A car is the best way to get here. There is no shade, so bring water and come in the cooler months.
Stone walls tracing the streets.
It may have marked the solstice.
Burials beside the settlement.
Saar, Northern Governorate, west of Manama
The mounds are mainly burials, while Saar also keeps the settlement's houses and streets, showing daily life as well as burial customs.
Not necessarily, but on-site explanation is thin, so it helps to read about Dilmun or visit Bahrain National Museum first.