A Rasulid Mosque at Al-Balid: New Excavations and Interpretative Perspectives

During the 2023–2024 field seasons, the Italian Archaeological Mission at Al-Balid (IAMOB) resumed investigations at mosque BA074, located in the centre of the ancient settlement. The mosque was part of a larger religious complex that the excavations have now brought to light, including a rectangular-plan minaret, a spacious area for ablutions, and a small funerary enclosure containing six burials. Full exposure of the structure confirmed a construction date in the 13th century, corresponding to the period of Rasulid domination in the Dhofar region. However, a trench excavated in the south-west corner of the prayer hall revealed that the mosque had been built over an earlier structure. The recovered assemblage includes locally produced and imported ceramics, glassware, coins, and fragments of gypsum plaster decorated with geometric and epigraphic motifs. Aerial photogrammetry and 3D modeling were employed to support documentation and to inform a virtual reconstruction of the complex.