A'ali Pottery Workshops

A'ali village sits among the largest of Bahrain's Dilmun burial mounds, and the potters there have for generations dug their kilns into the sides of the mounds, using the earth as insulation. The workshops turn out water jars, incense burners and glazed pieces on the wheel with the clay worked and fired on site. It is the last substantial pottery tradition left on the island.

Highlights

• The mound kilns - firing chambers dug into the sides of ancient burial mounds.
• The wheel work - pots thrown and finished in the open workshops.
• The water jars - the traditional forms the potteries are known for.
• The surviving trade - the last substantial pottery tradition on Bahrain.

When to go

November to March is the comfortable season. Workshops operate on weekdays and close on some days. Mornings are when firing usually happens.

Practical notes

The workshops are working premises, not a visitor attraction, and access depends on who is there. Much of the stock is now imported rather than made on site. The use of archaeological mounds as kilns is itself contested.

Nearby

The Dilmun Burial Mounds are around it, and Riffa is southeast.