Saar Archaeological Site

Saar is the clearest surviving town plan of the Dilmun period, excavated by a British team from the 1990s: a main street running through the settlement with houses along it, a temple at one end and a large burial field beside it holding hundreds of graves. The houses are laid out to a repeated pattern, which makes the ordinary domestic arrangement of a Bronze Age Gulf town readable in a way it rarely is.

What you actually see

• The street plan - a main road with houses ranged along it.
• The temple - the structure at the end of the settlement.
• The burial field - hundreds of graves beside the town.
• The repeated house form - a standard domestic layout across the settlement.

When to go

November to March is the comfortable season. Late afternoon light shows the wall lines best. Summer heat on the open site is severe.

Honest expectations

The remains are low walls and require some background to appreciate. Interpretation on site is minimal and the visitor building has been closed at times. There is no shade.

Nearby

Diraz is north, and the Dilmun Burial Mounds are south.