Al-Baleed Archaeological Park
Al-Baleed Archaeological Park is an archaeological park located in Al Balīd (Arabic: البليد) of Salalah, Dhofar, Oman. It is a part of the Land of Frankincense World Heritage Site.[1]
The ruins in the park belong to the ancient city of Z̧afār (Arabic: ظفار) which also covers the adjacent area in Ar Rubāţ (Arabic: الرباط). Z̧afār, from which the Dhofar Governorate got its name,[2] acted as an important port for frankincense trade during the medieval times, after the decline of the nearby port in Khor Rori.[3] The Roman name for the city was Saffara Metropolis and it is known primarily from its placement, together with Ubar, on maps drawn by Ptolemy, the Alexandrian astronomer and geographer. [4]
It was visited by many famous travellers, such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Zheng He.[5] The city declined in the 16th–17th centuries due to various reasons such as closures of the lagoon (Khawr al Balīd) and Portuguese/Turkish/Mamluk invasion.[3]
The site was rediscovered in 1992 by a team led by Nicholas Clapp and archaeologist Juris Zarins of Southwest Missouri State University. [6]
The park also contains the Museum of the Land of Frankincense.
References[]
- ^ "Land of Frankincense". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2000-11-30. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
- ^ Costa, P.M. (1979). "The study of the city of Ẓafār (al Balīd)". Journal of Oman Studies. 5: 111–150.
- ^ a b Zarins, Juris (2007). "Aspects of recent archaeological work at al-Balīd (Ẓafār), Sultanate of Oman". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 37: 309–324. ISSN 0308-8421.
- ^ Maugh, Thomas H., II (April 21, 1992). "L.A.-Based Archeology Team Finds 2nd Arabian City : History: Saffara Metropolis, a 3,000-year-old frankincense trading center, is found in Oman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Al Baleed Archaeological Park Salalah - UNESCO World Heritage Site - in 2020". Beautiful Salalah. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
- ^ Maugh, Thomas H., II (April 21, 1992). "L.A.-Based Archeology Team Finds 2nd Arabian City : History: Saffara Metropolis, a 3,000-year-old frankincense trading center, is found in Oman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
External links[]
- Maugh, Thomas H., II (April 21, 1992). "L.A.-Based Archeology Team Finds 2nd Arabian City : History: Saffara Metropolis, a 3,000-year-old frankincense trading center, is found in Oman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
Coordinates: 17°00′23″N 54°08′00″E / 17.00639°N 54.13333°E
 | This article relating to archaeology in the Near East is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
 | This article about the geography of Oman is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- Land of Frankincense
- Archaeological sites in Oman
- Salalah
- Near East archaeology stubs
- Oman geography stubs