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Evidence for an Ancient Church in southern Arabia?

1600 years ago a terracotta cup inscribed with six symmetrical symbols got buried in a fort in southern Arabia. What did those symbols represent and what was the cup used for?

Greek Cross

A team of archaeologists headed by Dr Juris Zarins unearthed it from a buried fort, which was once an integral part of the ancient frankincense trade. Fort Hamran, as it is now known, lies 25 km east of Salalah in the Dhofar governorate of southern Oman.

The vessel they found was originally purple in colour and marked with six simple Greek crosses. Their conclusion is that it was a Christian chalice (communion cup)! And what was it doing in southern Arabia?

This raises the possibility that Christian monks had set up a centre in what was once a frankincense trading post. “There is a chance that Ain Humran was the missing ‘third church’ founded by the Byzantine missionary Theophilus Indus in the middle 300s.” (Clapp, N. (1998). The road to Ubar : finding the Atlantis of the sands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p.212)

Posted in Dhofar, Hamran Fort, لبان, ظفار

Ain Razat

Aug 27

Posted by KiwiOman

Ain Razat is the most important source of spring water in Dhofar. It used to be one of the main sources of water for Salalah. Its water as well as several smaller springs flow into a long pool on the northern side of the carpark at the foot of the jebel. Water flows along a falaj (watercourse) throughout the year, although flow is highest during the khareef. This water flows 7 km to Al-Mamurah Palace, the Sultan’s residence when in Salalah. A further 3 km further on the watercourse reaches Razat Farm.

Near the spring is a beautiful fenced garden, which belongs to the Diwan of the Royal Court and is constantly guarded. However, it is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays and every day during the khareef. The garden is a very popular place for picnics, as is the area under the trees near the pool near the spring.

There are several shallow caves in the limestone hills along the northern side of the spring and pool. Unlike the hills on the jebel side of the Razat Valley, the hills on the southern side of the pool and carpark are much more accessible, and relatively easy to climb. There are numerous animal tracks which zigzag the hillside so there are no problems in finding your way to the top. At the summit there is an uninterrupted panorama of the plain from Salalah to Taqah.

During and immediately after the khareef the whole area comes alive. Fresh growth is seen everywhere: fresh grass, trees with new leaves, and many plants and trees covered in colourful blossom. The new growth and easy availability of water attracts insects and birds – for example, the African Paradise Flycatcher, the White-Breasted White Eye, African Silverbills and Wheatears – which thrive under these conditions.

A generation or two ago, waters from Ain Razat and nearby Ain Hamran, were channelled into cultivated fields. Evidence of the irrigation systems are still visible on the plains in some areas around Wadis Razat and Hamran. There are also the remains of an occasional tower or two which were used by farmers to guard their land. Friends have told me that in the late 1930s the plains between Ain Razat and Khor Soli (near Taqa) were, in season, green with crops of millet, corn and other grains.

Posted in Ain Razat, Dhofar