Khor Rori

Khawr Rawrī
Khor Rori
خور روري (Arabic)
View of Khor Rori from the ruins of Sumhuram, with Inqitat Mirbat on the left and Inqitat Taqah on the right
Khawr Rawrī is located in Oman
Khawr Rawrī
Khawr Rawrī
LocationWilayat Taqah, Dhofar Governorate, Oman
Coordinates17°02′21.62″N 54°25′49.72″E / 17.0393389°N 54.4304778°E / 17.0393389; 54.4304778
Typebar-built estuary, intermittently closed/open lake/lagoon
River sourcesWādī Darbāt
Ocean/sea sourcesArabian Sea
Max. length2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi)
Max. width0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi)
Max. depth5 metres (16 ft)
References[1]
Sumhuram
سمهرم
The ruins of Sumhuram
Alternative nameSamharam, Samhuram, Sumharam
LocationWilayat Taqah, Dhofar Governorate, Oman
Coordinates17°2′20.4″N 54°26′4″E / 17.039000°N 54.43444°E / 17.039000; 54.43444
Typefortified port city
Part ofLand of Frankincense
History
Founded3rd century BC
Abandoned5th century AD
CulturesKingdom of Ḥaḍramawt, Kingdom of Ḥimyar

Khor Rori (Arabic: خور روري, romanized: Khawr Rawrī) is a bar-built estuary at the mouth of Wādī Darbāt in the Dhofar Governorate, Oman, near Taqah. It is an intermittently closed/open lake/lagoon, with an inlet from Arabian Sea that is usually disconnected.[1] It is a major breeding ground for birds,[2] and used to act as an important harbour for frankincense trade when it was an open estuary.[1] The area represents a popular tourist spot within Oman and since 2000, is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Land of Frankincense.[3]

Khor Rori is best known for the ruins of the ancient fortified port city of Sumhuram on the eastern bank, which was founded in the 3rd century BC as an outpost for the Kingdom of Ḥaḍramawt.[4] After the eclipse of Ḥaḍramawt, Sumhuram was under the influence of the Kingdom of Ḥimyar, as indicated by the Himyarite coins excavated from there.[5] It was finally abandoned in the 5th century, most likely due to the formation of the sandbar blocking the estuary.[1][6]

There are also archaeological ruins on the two promontories at the mouth of Khor Rori. The eastern promontory (Inqitat Mirbat[7]) is better explored than the western promontory (Inqitat Taqah[7]).[8] Inqitat Mirbat, also known as Khatiya or al-Ḥamr al-Sharqiya,[9][10] had been inhabited by the 4th century BC before the emergence of Sumhuram, and its settlement history might date back to the 8th century BC.[11] It was abandoned in the 1st or 2nd century,[11] and re-occupied in the medieval period.[10]

  1. ^ a b c d Hoorn, Carina; Cremaschi, Mauro (2004-10-07). "Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental history of Khawr Rawri and Khawr Al Balid (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 213 (1): 1–36. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2004.03.014. ISSN 0031-0182.
  2. ^ "Dhofar beckons lovers of nature tourism". Ministry of Tourism (Oman). 29 June 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Land of Frankincense". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2000. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  4. ^ Avanzini, Alessandra; Sedov, Alexander V. (2005). "The stratigraphy of Sumhuram: new evidence". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 35: 11–17. ISSN 0308-8421. JSTOR 41219365.
  5. ^ Sedov, Alexander V. (2008). "The Coins from Sumhuram: the 2001A-2004A Seasons". In Avanzini, Alessandra (ed.). A Port in Arabia Between Rome and the Indian Ocean, 3rd C.BC-5th C.AD: Khor Rori Report 2. Rome, Italy: L'Erma di Bretschneider. pp. 277–316. ISBN 978-88-8265-469-6.
  6. ^ Avanzini, Alessandra (2008). A Port in Arabia Between Rome and the Indian Ocean, 3rd C.BC-5th C.AD: Khor Rori Report 2. Rome, Italy: L'Erma di Bretschneider. ISBN 978-88-8265-469-6.
  7. ^ a b Avanzini, Alessandra; Orazi, Roberto (2001). "The construction phases of Khor Rori's monumental gate". Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 12 (2): 249–259. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0471.2001.d01-9.x. ISSN 1600-0471.
  8. ^ Zarins, Juris (2009). Avanzini, Allesandra (ed.). "The Latest on the Archaeology of Southern Oman". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 129 (4): 665–674. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 25766909.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Rougeulle, Axelle (2008). "A Medieval Trade Entrepôt at Khor Rori? The Study of the Islamic Ceramic from al-Ḥamr al-Sharqiya". In Avanzini, Alessandra (ed.). A Port in Arabia Between Rome and the Indian Ocean, 3rd C.BC-5th C.AD: Khor Rori Report 2. Rome, Italy: L'Erma di Bretschneider. pp. 645–667. ISBN 978-88-8265-469-6.
  11. ^ a b Lischi, Silvia (2021-02-01). "Notes on the South Arabian Occupation of Inqitat". In Hatke, George; Ruzicka, Ronald (eds.). South Arabian Long-Distance Trade in Antiquity: "Out of Arabia". Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 228–244. ISBN 978-1-5275-6533-3.