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submitted to the Depatrment o History at Harvard University in the orm o a
thesis or which he was awarded a PH.D degree in 194. His Dilmun. he
Histoyr Bahrain lsland Beore yprus was the irst academic research on
the histoyr o Bahrain and its archeloogy. hrough his research, he not on in
proved that Bahrain was the enter o the Dilmun ivilization? but also paved
the way to oreign archeological missions like the Danish ission who came
in the ities and statred digging at the Portuguese Fotr that was built on the
remains o an lslamic otr known as Qalat Al-Bahrain? hence the site has

been known as @alat Al-Bahrain.

Ater ornwall, the real interest in the archaeology o Bahrain and the search
or the Dilmun ivilization began in 195 more than twelve years ater he
began his ecavation on the island, he Danish Archaeological Epedition
began. ecavating at Qalat lA-Bahrain where their irst systematic and
scientiically based research began. he Danes aided by eorey Bibby
came to the conlcusion that Bahrain was the seat o that ancient civilization.
ln his book Looking or Dilmun, Bibby paid tribute to ornwall recognizing the
eotrs o this pioneer when he said? ; It would be unair to a distinguished
scholar not to mention at this point Dr Peter Bruce ornwall, who duirng the
Second World War ecavated a number o the Bahrain burial-mounds and
later wrote a veyr detailed thesis putting owrard the evidence or
identiication o Bahrain with Dilmun. he reason why he has not been
mentioned hithetro is that when we began our work we knew little more than
the bare act that an American Archeologist had worked or a time on the
island. It was only some years late,r and by rather devious channels, that we
were able to obtain a photostatic copy o Dr. ornwall s unpublished thesis
and conirmation o which grave-mounds he had ecavated,

Ater the Danish Epedition, archeological teams rom Britain, France, Japan,
erman,y Jordan, Pakistan and lndia as well as rom Bahrain continued to
ecavate in various sites all over the island. Unlike in the past, those involved
in diggings are proessional archeologists and specialized historians or
ethnologists. :the days o the amateurs are product o the past, hese teams
work together with the Depatrment o Archeology and the Nationral useum
in Bahrain. hey have the suppotr o the overnment o Bahrain and their
own institutions. heir works have revealed many acts about not only the