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Only three of thcm have bcen s١fficiently cxposcd for their shape and dimensions to be
ascertained, wlile only ١ s١all surface ar٥:١ of the remaining four has bcen rcconstituted a1
the botton١ of the borc-holcs, ٨١١ thrce ar٥ situated along the south w٦١١ of the fort and open
onto passageways via ‫ ﺍ‬door in thcir norh w٦ll. Almost thcir cntire surfacc is hidden by 1
rectngalar platform several centimctres high, made ١p of ٨ scries of channels r١١ing
١orth-so١th which ar٥‫؟‬epartcd by small, low, crudcly made dams. 'The clnnels slopc
slightly towards the orth whcre they r١٨ into a pcrpcndicilar channel which itself slopcs
slightly to cast or west; at the nd of this chancl is ٨ t:٦k, rouglly rcctangular in shape, of
varying depth, in thc north-east or north-west corner of the ٢oo١ dcpenling on the dircction
of the chanel. ٨ ١٦١١ space is lcft in the adjacent corncr ncar thc door, thus allowing casy
١ccess to the platform and tank٠ Iatform and tank ٦٢e bounded along the w٦lls of th١e room
and the open space by a smal١ wa١١, the same hcight as the d١s, nd thc whole structure is
covercd with ٨ coating.

PIatform no. 1, which was u١covercd by G. Bibby during his cxcavation of the hundrcd
metre trcnch' and has been hcavily crodcd since, is situatcd in thc southern part of the fort;
the roon mcasures 3.2 1. wide by 9.7 ٦. long and the platform itself 3.2 m. by 8.5 m٠: it
ismade up of six widc channels, scparated by Iow dams (6 cm.) with a fairlysteep gradient of
about 1 in 1 over the sixty ccntimctres of the structure which have been preserved. The
perpcendicular channcl, has disappcared. The building technique is quite elaborate: the
whole rests on a horiontal whitc-grey closely-packed stratum covered with a light-orange
colourcd layer in which projccting small stoncs have bcen cemented forning the base of the
dams and sarrounding wall; the whole is covered with a hard orange coating a centimetre
thick. The tank, situated in the north-wcst corner of the room measures 1.4 m. by 1.25 m.
with a depth of 1،5 m٠, that is a capacity of about 515 hitres; its walls, which are up to 6 cm.
thick, have the same coating as the platform.

Platform no. 2 (ifg. 2) is situated in the south-east part of the fort, and like all the
following installations, was unearthed during the 1979 season. The room i‫ﻭ‬7.5 m, long, the
platform 6.3 m.;: their width is not known but is more than 1.9 m. Seven narrow channels
have been cleared, separated by dams about 1 cm. high with a gradient of almost 1 in 5. The
construction is lighter than that of structure no. 1; the whole is moulded in light clay covered
with two layers of coating at the bottom of the channels and a single layer on the dams which
on the whole arc poorly preserved. The tank, situated in the north-west corner, is similarly
coated; it measures .7 m. by .95 m. with a depth of.4 m., that is a capacity of about 266
litres. The lfoor of the room, in the north-east corner, is .3 m. lower than the top of the
wall and is covered with very red soil containing large pieces of charcoal and date-stones.

Platform no. 3 (PI.I:1) is also situated in the south-east section of the fort; it is 3.4 m.
long and the room is 4.4 m. Their width is not known, but is more than 2 m. Six channels
have been exposed. The building technique is the same as for platform no. 2, the clay base
being covered with only a single layer of coating three to four centimetres thick on the dams
and six centimetres at the bottom of the channels. The tank, situated in the north-east corner
is not visible except in the bore-hole section and its capacity is unknown. The north-west

3 BIBBY 1957: 161; the excavation of the lslamic fotr at Oal'at el-Bahrain, undertaken by the
Danish team, then abandoned for other objectives, was resumed by the French mission in
197٦.

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