Booming residential construction projects in one of the most popular areas in Bahrain have thwarted this year’s attempts to celebrate a centuries’ old tradition.
Newly-constructed high-rise buildings in Saar have made it difficult to observe the summer solstice sun setting on Saar Temple like the Dilmunians might have first experienced it 4,000 years ago.
Every year on June 21, the longest day of the year, people have flocked to the Saar Archaeological Site to watch the sun align with a corner of the settlement’s Dilmun-era temple.
The hypothesis that a section of the temple was constructed specifically to act as a sun-dial marking the annual celestial event was raised by Saudi geo-archaeologist Nabiel Al Shaikh in 1997.
However, it is now no longer possible to see the alignment, like in previous years, as recently constructed towering buildings hide the horizon and cover the sun as it dips out of sight.
“The people of Dilmun might have considered the solstice their new year, as evidenced by the temple in this room,” said Mr Al Shaikh to the crowd gathered at Tuesday’s sunset.
“This leads me to believe that this temple might have been dedicated to the Mesopotamian sun god, Utu,” added the now-retired director of the Dammam Regional Museum.
Mr Al Shaikh said he noticed this phenomenon when he stood in the same spot in 1996, and had to return the next year to make sure of what he saw.
Although the Saudi Arabian expert has been coming to the site every year since 1997, his theory has not been confirmed scientifically. One objection raised by experts is that the corner is off by 10 degrees in its alignment with the solstice sun.
Mr Al Shaikh attributes the misalignment to the instability of the ground below the temple. “The entire area ought to have shifted over the last four millennia, as can be observed in the case of the pillar in the temple that is leaning,” he claimed.
Historian Mahmood Baqlawa, who was also present in the solstice viewing, expressed his views on the theory to the GDN. “Although it is an excellent theory, it has not yet been studied systematically or presented in an academic study and, therefore, cannot be confirmed,” the Bahraini said.
“But perhaps the ongoing excavations in the Saar Archaeological Site could reveal evidence supporting it.”
Mr Baqlawa expressed his dismay at the urban sprawl and its effects on heritage sites, saying that it has ‘ruined’ the look of the ancient remains.
“Either way, every civilisation marked the New Year and had a calendar, whether solar or lunar,” he said, adding that discussions of different hypotheses were always important.
Mr Al Shaikh also spoke about the meaning of the alleged sun-dial to our understanding of the Dilmun civilisation. “This shows us that Dilmunians were not just traders, but also astronomers and scientists,” he said.
“Calendars are important in every culture to mark occasions and seasons.”
Solstices were celebrated among many ancient civilisations around the world, including the ‘Nowruz’ spring equinox celebration still observed in Iran. Meanwhile, the ancient Egyptians used the star Ceres and the level of the tides to track the year.
“Unfortunately, they did not leave any writing behind so we can only learn about them through the structures and seals they left behind,” he added.
The Saar Archaeological Site is home to a trove of impressively-constructed and well-preserved ancient structures, each from a different epoch.
The ancient multi-era remains were uncovered during a 1977 land survey to clear the area for the construction of the King Fahad Causeway.
It is the country’s second most significant one after Qal’at al-Bahrain, according to Bahrain Authority of Culture and Antiquities (Baca) antiquities and museums director Dr Salman Al Mahari.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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