Dilmun Burial Mounds

The Dilmun Burial Mounds are a widespread Bronze Age cemetery complex on the northern plain of Bahrain, representing an ancient funerary landscape associated with the Dilmun civilization. They are significant for the density and preservation of tumuli and burial architecture from the third to the first millennium BCE.

Scattered across agricultural land and low dunes, thousands of earthen and stone mounds form the visible remains of a large burial landscape. Individual mounds vary in size and construction and some excavated tombs have yielded ceramic and metal grave goods; a few marked sites are accessible for viewing by visitors.

The mounds are associated with the Bronze Age Dilmun culture and were used as funerary monuments over many centuries. Archaeological excavations in the 20th and 21st centuries have recorded a range of burial types and artefacts that illustrate long-term ritual and social practices in the Gulf region.

The mounds are located across the northern part of Bahrain Island in the Northern Governorate, with notable concentrations near A’ali and other villages north of Manama.

• Where to see them: The mounds are concentrated across the northern plain of Bahrain; the largest concentrations are near the villages of A’ali and Barbar where excavated tombs and standing tumuli are visible.

Many mounds are visible from roads in northern Bahrain; drive via Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway and local roads. Coordinate visits with national museums or archaeological authorities when possible.

• Visit the burial mounds with a licensed local guide - many sites are in archaeological zones and access can be controlled.
• Photograph from a distance where signage asks for non-intrusion; some mounds are fragile and subject to conservation rules.
• Combine visits with the Bahrain National Museum to contextualise burial finds and historical analysis.