Dilmun Burial Mounds

Tickets and tours: which to book

Nothing for the Dilmun Burial Mounds alone is sold online. The mound fields are open landscapes, many of them fenced, and there is no ticket: you see the royal mounds of A'ali from the surrounding streets, and the excavated cemetery at Saar from paths and a viewing area inside its enclosure. Information boards in Arabic and English explain the main groups.

Most visitors explore by hired car or taxi, since the sites are spread out across the north of the island and public buses are slow. Taxis and app-based cars can be hired by the hour, and drivers usually know A'ali.

Local agencies in Manama run half-day and full-day tours of Bahrain that often include a stop at the A'ali mounds and the potters' workshops beside them, together with Qal'at al-Bahrain and the Tree of Life. These usually include transport and a guide, sometimes lunch, and are also offered to cruise passengers. Private guides can arrange a deeper tour of the mound fields with the Saar settlement and temple.

The sensible plan is to visit the Bahrain National Museum first to see the reconstructed burial chamber and grave goods, then drive to A'ali and Saar in the late afternoon.

A short history

Bahrain's mounds were built over several thousand years, but the great majority date from the early Dilmun period, roughly 2200 to 1750 BC, when the island controlled trade in copper and other goods between Mesopotamia, Oman and the Indus valley. Each tomb has a stone chamber inside a low ring wall, covered with earth and gravel; most held a single body with a few pots, seals or weapons. Up to 350,000 mounds once existed. Theodore and Mabel Bent dug some in 1889, and a Danish team excavated more in the 1950s. Housing has destroyed many, which led to debate in parliament. The surviving fields were listed by UNESCO in 2019.

Getting there

Bahrain International Airport is on Muharraq, about 25 minutes by road from A'ali, and central Manama is about 20 minutes away. The easiest way to visit is by rental car or taxi; ride-hailing apps work well. From Manama, take the Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway south-west towards A'ali, where the royal mounds are signposted in the village. Saar is about 10 minutes further west, off the Janabiyah Highway, with parking at the enclosure. Public buses connect Manama with A'ali and Saar, but they are infrequent and leave long walks in the heat. Distances are short, so two or three sites fit easily into half a day.

Rules and what to bring

Climbing the mounds is forbidden, and they are protected by law; do not dig, take stones or pottery or drive off-road among them. Drones need permission from the civil aviation authority. Dress modestly in the villages. Bring water, a hat and sunscreen, as there is no shade at Saar. Toilets and cafés are not found at the mound fields, but A'ali and nearby malls have both. Respect the residents' privacy in A'ali when photographing.

When to go

Bahrain is hot for much of the year, so plan your visit around the heat. From November to March, days are warm and pleasant and you can walk the mound fields at any hour. From May to September, temperatures often exceed 40 degrees with high humidity, and outdoor sightseeing is only comfortable in the first hour after sunrise or in the last hour before dark.

The low light of late afternoon is best for photographs, as it throws the round shapes of the mounds into relief. Friday is the weekend day when traffic is lightest in the morning, but some workshops in A'ali open later then. During Ramadan, opening hours of shops and museums shorten.

The sites are rarely busy; even in winter you will meet only small groups. Allow two to three hours for A'ali, the potters and Saar, plus at least an hour for the museum.