Page 79 - DILMUN 12

The first data, that of the construction of the fort, seems to have been about 250 BC. It is
only after some years of doubt that it has been possible to arrive at this dating. It was noted that
the groundplan of the fort is connected with a tradition of Graeco-Roman forts, whose final
appearance, during the Umayad times, was in castles in Syria and Jordan (late 7tli/early 8th
century). Two other elements, however, made one inclined to suggest a“prc-Islamic” date for
the fortress: the presence of hedonistic material on a lower level of the fortress,3 and the
presence in its eastern wall of a pink coloured mortar which is characteristic of the hcllcnistic
period at Qal’al al-Bahrain.

While carrying out a number of test excavations to try to obtain confirmation of the
hcllcnistic date for the fortress, one of the excavations seemed to provide evidence to the
contrary: it brought to light, under the flagstone paving of the courtyard which was expressly
lifted, the presence of Islamic ceramics of the 12/13th century. This ceramic was found in
abundance on the floors of the fortress.

Then a discovery made last January brought an end to all speculation: a pit, or silo, was
discovered, whose internal plaster extended up and out over the floor level in which it had
been dug and then continued up the base of the tower of the west corner of the fortress. The cut
stone blocks of this tower bonded perfectly with the stones of the North wall. Thus, it was
established without doubt that the silo, the tower and the North wall were all contemporary.
Significantly, the silo contained only hellenistic material.4

Thus the fortress, with its towers, its exterior walls and internal walls, was for the most part
constructed during the hellenistic epoch; while certain interior alterations, such as the paving
of the courtyard, had been carried out during a later re-occupation of the fort.

The historical context of the building of the fortress and the reasons for its construction
sometime during the 3rd century BC., are poorly known: not a single inscription has been
found within the fort, and there are no references to its construction in the historic or narrative
sources.

While leaving it to my colleagues to throw some light on the pre-Islamic history of
Bahrain, let me note in passing a reference in Tabari that refers to the existence of a fort in
Bahrain at the beginning of the 3rd century AD., that is to say during the Sasanid epoch, when
a king named Satirun took up position there in the face of the victorious advance of the Persian
sovereign Ardeshir, who finally took possession of the fortress and left it to his son Shapur 1 as
regent.5

It is far from certain that the fortress mentioned by Tabari is the fortress of Qal’at
al-Bahrain: at the time when the Arab historian was writing, the beginning ofthe 10th century,
the name Bahrain was applied to an area very much more extensive than today: it covered all
the eastern part of Arabia around al-Qatif and al-Hasa, as well as the archipelago which today
comprises Bahrain, together with the principal islands of Uwal and Muharraq. Equally, the
fortress where Satirun took up his position could well have been situated on the mainland:
either at al-Hasa or at al-Qatif where the sovereigns of Bahrain, whether the Qarmates or the
’Uyunides, usually resided.

Apart from the construction itself, the occupation of the hellenistic period has left few
traces in the fortress, having generally been obliterated by the 13th century occupation.

26