Dilmun Burial Mounds

Bahrain

Project Duration: 2015 - 2019

For the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Dr. Rudolff coordinated the preparation of the World Heritage nomination dossier and corresponding Management Plan for the archaeological site of the Dilmun Burial Mounds. The Dilmun Burial Mounds nomination was submitted by the 1st of February 2018 and has been inscribed during the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2019.

The burial mounds originate from the Early Dilmun Period which spans the period from 2,200 to 1,750 CE. The outstanding cultural value of the burial mounds lies in their ability to represent the flourishing develop­ment of the Dilmun civilisation for all social groups at this time. The serial nomination is based on a selection of 23 components, among them 17 Royal Mounds in the centre of the village A’ali.

As part of the Management Plan’s development, community involvement was integrated as a long-term stra­tegic goal. The specific objective focused on the conception of different methods and instruments intended to strengthen the recognition and valuation of the Dilmun Burial Mounds, and the involvement of the local inhabitants in the management processes.

The initiative was successful and resulted in inscription in 2019.

Reference: Britta Rudolff, Melanie Münzner & Elena Kragulj. Dilmun Burial Mounds ‐ Management Plan. Mana­ma: Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and Think Heritage. 2018. (372 pages).

Photo credits: Think Heritage / Melanie Münzner