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» 'The Fort Sohar incubator

e p‫ﺍ‬atform exposcd in thc inner fort (built in the ١3١h anl ١4th١ ccnturies) of the Sohar
onghold in Oman is a slightly different type. Simalarly placcd against the south wall of the
t, it comprises two sets of cight parallcl channcls r٨٦ing cast-west sloping to meet in a
٦tral pcrpendicular channcl. Only a lcngth of 7،65 m٠ has bccn cxcavated (the set of
anncls on thc west side, whicl has bccn completcly dug out, measures 5.30 m.). It is 3.45
wide, 'Ihe central chancl flows to the north, not into a tank, but into an earthenware jar
icd undcr thc spacc situated at the sane lcvcl as the top of the platform and encroaches
on the first thrce channcls of cach sct; these flow into the fourth through a snmall
'e-channcl which r١ns along thc cdgcs of the space, Whcn it was cxcavatcd the opening of
2 buried jar was found covered by a bakcd brick. The whole structure is very well
sevred and has no doubt bccn repaired, if not rebuilt, at a relatively recent date'; the
ilding technique is not known. The incubator must beve been slightly lower down because
is rcached by a small stairway of four stcps.

Date incubators ethnographical data

a Deseription

cubators, identical to those excavated, still eist today in these regions. The one we were
،le to visit in Bahrain? has not been used since the middle nineteen-seventies and there do
١t appear to be any working models still on the island. It belongs to a house in Manama and
in a windowless room situated against the south wall of the house, adjoining the entrance
rch and opening onto a corridor to the north. The surface of this room, which measures
10 m. by 2.50 m. is completely taken up by a platform of six channels, urnning north-south,
the same type as those dug out at Oal'at el-Bahrain, but bounded on three sides only, as at
aqsha, by a small wall which also forms a doorstep. The perpendicular channel ends in an
trhenware jar, 0.90 m. deep, buried in the north-west corner near the door. The entire
ucture is covered with a yellow coating.

Similarly other incubators not in use can be found in Oman. The houses which we were
le to visit all possessed at least one and it seems that the same applies to the numerous
str scattered over the territory of the Sultanate'. A1! the platforms we viewed were the
nple kind, as in Bahrain, with a buired jar as the final receptacle; however the fort at

m‫ﻉ‬a had a circular installation.

nlike Bahrain, there are incubators still working in Oman and we were able to visit
'o while they were in use in the village of Nobar, 36 kilometres from Sohar on ،the Fujeirah
ad. As elsewhere the platforms are installed in windowless rooms facing south, adjoining
e main building but opening onto a courtyard; they take up only part of the room leaving a
irly large space free (the largest installation measures 3 m. by 2 m. in a room 3 m. by 3.50

Th inner fotr was occupied for some time before being raed to the ground
At the home of Faycal al-yunati, archaeologist at the Bahrain Depatrment of Antiquities.
These fotrs are generally closed to the publie and cannot be visited except with official
permission which we were unable to obtain due to lack of time.

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