Standing as a testament to the ancient Dilmun civilization’s reverence for the departed, Dilmun Burial Mounds are a complex cultural tapestry preserving the mystique and heritage of a civilization that once thrived amidst the desert sands. There are 11,774 total Dilmun burial mounds across 21 archeological sites which were built between 2200 and 1750 BCE.

The Dilmun Burial Mounds were added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, or a place on earth that is of outstanding universal value to humanity, in 2019.

Consisting of six fields, these burial mounds showcase a few dozen to thousands of tumuli taking form in short cylindrical towers. The other 15 sites include 17 regal mounds designed as two-storied sepulchral towers. This intricate burial tradition carried between 2200 and 1750 BCE  exhibits numerous globally unique characteristics in its number, density, and scale but as well as features such as burial chambers equipped with alcoves. 

These peculiarly shaped burial mounds offer insight into the Early Dilmun civilization during the 2nd millennium BCE, unveiling a period when Bahrain thrived as a trade center and thus fostered the intricate tradiction.

Visit the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities website to learn more about the Dilmun Burial Mounds.