Found these – made in the very early 90’s I think (on Kodak Gold) A Potter from Bahla; I wonder what has happened to him in the intervening years?
Almost certainly taken with a Nikon AF401 and 35 to 70 mm zoom lens, shop processed.
C41 negatives scanned with a Plustek 7600i and cleaned up in P/S Cs6 (they needed it !) The local shop did not take as much care as one would expect in more modern places. The negatives had faded (old chemicals used probably) and the colour had shifted a bit.
Steps & Shadows No2.
This is what UNESCO say about these tombs:
The zone encompassing the settlement and necropolis of Bat is the most complete and best-known site of the 3rd millennium BC. In a restricted, coherent space, the necropolis of Bat bears characteristic and unique witness to the evolution of funeral practices during the first Bronze Age in the Oman peninsula.
Historical sources recount that the country of Magan was the principal extraction centre for copper, which was exported even to far-away Mesopotamia, as early as about 3000 BC. The appearance of a more strictly hierarchical social organization (as attested to both in the settlements, where circular defensive structures contrast with rectangular houses, and in the necropolis, where the arrangement of funerary space is more complex) goes hand in hand with higher living standards and social changes linked to a trade economy.
The protohistoric site extends north of the village and palm grove of Bat, when excavation began in 1972; it includes a settlement and a necropolis from the 3rd millennium BC. In the settlement zone, north of the confluence of a small waterway and Wadi al Hijr, there are five stone ‘towers’, structures that are very representative of the first Bronze Age in the Oman peninsula. One of the towers has been entirely excavated and it has been determined that it was built between 2595 BC and 2465 BC. At the level of the substructures, the plan of the tower features a series of exterior surface projections and two rows of parallel rooms on either side of a large platform in masonry with a well in the centre.
From the tower, which serves as the site’s reference point, can be distinguished immediately to the east on the slope a series of rectangular houses with central courts and, to the north, a vast necropolis that can be divided into two distinct groups. The first group is located at the top of the rocky slope. Its drystone tombs (some of which date from the 4th millennium, although in some cases they may have subsequently been modified) are scattered along the path from Bat to Al Wahrah.
The much more densely concentrated second group extends over rice terraces south-east of the wadi and includes more than 100 drystone ‘beehive’ tombs, which tend to be organized according to an overall plan. The most ancient ones are to the north. They have only one entrance and one funerary chamber and were a collective burial-place for a small number of dead. Towards the south, the sepulchres become more monumental. They have two entrances which open on to two and sometimes four funerary chambers and were intended for larger numbers of dead.
The settlement and necropolis zones of Bat form a coherent and representative group with two neighbouring contemporary archaeological sites: the tower of Al-Khutm, 2 km west of Bat, and the group of beehive tombs of Qubur Juhhal at Al-Ayn, 22 km east-south-east of Bat. The 21 tombs from the 3rd millennium, aligned on a rocky crest that stands out in the superb mountainous landscape of Jebel Misht to the north, are in a remarkable state of preservation. They have not been excavated and constitute an obviously interesting archaeological reserve.
The site can be found near Ibri (عبري) a city in the region Az Zahirah, northwest Oman.
Nikon D800 – AF-S Nikkor 35mm f1.4G.
(As usual – where do I find a straight line!)
Another early morning impromptu trip.
Rustaq: once the capital of Oman, during the era of Imam Nasir bin Murshid al Ya’arubi. (The one that suggested in 1620 that the Portuguese should leave Oman – he gave them an offer they could not refuse! by 1650 they were all gone and if the Omanis had their way; never to be seen again)
Rustaq Fort: originally known as Qalat Al Kisra was constructed in the 13th century. Recently refurbished, like many of the more significant forts in Oman.
It has a wall around the inner castle (similar to ‘Norman’ construction in the UK) A falaj runs through the fort to supply water for the inhabitants. Should this become contaminated, they were able to rely on a well, giving them the ability to withstand a long siege. One feature of Rustaq Fort is its four watchtowers: Al Burj Al Ahmar (The Red Tower); Al Burj Al Hadeeth (The Modern Tower); Al Burj Al Reeh (The Wind Tower); and Al Burj Ashiateen (or The Devil’s Tower).
More images to follow 🙂
Nikon D800 – converted in Photoshop C/Mixer. AF Nikkor 50mm f1.8 D.
A different style of tomb found at Bat – it has more in common with the ones at Al Ayn: note also the remains of others dotted on the hillside beyond.
“We are now cruising at a level of two to the power of twenty-five thousand to one against and falling, and we will be restoring normality just as soon as we are sure what is normal anyway.”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
In the meantime:-
Burial Tombs near Bat: the white one is how they would have looked when in use. It was reconstructed by archaeologists to give an idea of the impressive visual image created, when first seeing them on the surrounding hills.
The Ibri region is very rich in necropolis and archaeological sites dating back to around the third millennium. The village of Bat about 30 kms east of Ibri, appears to have been occupied continuously for well over 4000 years. This type of tomb does not seem to have been collectively used but rather, contained between two to five distinct burial sections.
Innerdale Monument.
From an account by Tommy Hazell Saltford, Bristol.
In 1943 a group of airmen built the monument on the North-East tip of Masirah near the airfield. It commemorates the massacre of the captain and 21 crew of S.S. Innerdale, a vessel of 3,340 tons, that had run aground on the Kuria Murile islands on 2nd August, 1904. The party left their lifeboat seeking help, and probably thought they had landed on the mainland. A tragic misunderstanding with the natives resulted in the deaths of captain and crew. The ship’s boy was the only survivor. The ringleaders were later executed by the Sultan of Muscat’s forces. The inscription on the monument was misspelt “Inverdale”, and seems to add a unique touch to an unusual piece of history.
A more official account:
The only survivor was a cabin boy who was taken aboard the Dalhousie. Whether the captain had deliberately decided to land, or had simply been driven ashore by the monsoon will never be known, but it appears that on landing, the crew were met by the local sheikh. The Arabs were friendly at first, but at some stage in the proceedings one of the crew fired a pistol. Whether the crew feared for their safety in some way or there was simply an accident cannot be ascertained, but in the resultant fight twenty-one of the seamen were killed. The Arabs buried the bodies in the sand near Ra’s Qudifah, close to the Northern most point of the island. The ringleaders were later captured and punished; some received the death penalty and were also buried on the Northern tip of the island
David A Lockwood 