The Rasulid cemetery of Ar Ribat (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman) Preliminary results

The paper presents the preliminary results of the activities carried out within the Rasulid cemetery located in the area of Ar Ribat, in the city of Salalah (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman). The cemetery comprises two burial areas, named Ar Ribat North and Ar Ribat South, respectively. Through the study of previously published literature and satellite imagery, that allowed to locate the cemetery, a targeted cleaning and documentation campaign was conducted, including a survey of topographic points, photographic and photogrammetric documentation of the tombs and gravestones. The analysis of the evidence allowed to define preliminary types of burials, types of gravestones and a chronology of the preserved funerary evidence. From a first prospection of the site, the cemetery seems to contain the oldest known Islamic funerary evidence in the region. More than 100 graves dated to the Rasulid period (late 13th–14th centuries), including the tombs of Rasulid sultans and their relatives, have been discovered and documented. They constitute the only known corpus of Rasulid tombs and the first physical evidence of the settlement of some members of the dynasty in Dhofar. While the cemetery of Ar Ribat South proved to be better preserved and used within a more limited chronological window, that of Ar Ribat North provides an insight of the evolution of the regional funerary culture also in post-Rasulid times. The in-depth study of the two sites will contribute to shed new light on the oldest known Islamic historical phases of occupation of the region, of which archaeological investigations have up to now failed to provide clear evidence.