Global InformationKhor Rori information
| 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 | |
| Location | Wilayat Taqah, Dhofar Governorate, Oman |
| Coordinates | 17°02′21.62″N 54°25′49.72″E / 17.0393389°N 54.4304778°E |
| Type | bar-built estuary, intermittently closed/open lake/lagoon |
| River sources | Wādī Darbāt |
| Ocean/sea sources | Arabian Sea |
| Max. length | 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) |
| Max. width | 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) |
| Max. depth | 5 metres (16 ft) |
| References | [1] |
سمهرم | |
 The ruins of Sumhuram | |
| Alternative name | Samharam, Samhuram, Sumharam |
|---|---|
| Location | Wilayat Taqah, Dhofar Governorate, Oman |
| Coordinates | 17°2′20.4″N 54°26′4″E / 17.039000°N 54.43444°E |
| Type | fortified port city |
| Part of | Land of Frankincense |
| History | |
| Founded | 3rd century BC |
| Abandoned | 5th century AD |
| Cultures | Kingdom 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] Khor Rori has been identified as the location of Moscha Limen (Ancient Greek: Μόσχα λιμήν, probably meaning "the harbour of young shoots (μόσχος)" and referring to the possible mangrove vegetation in the past)[3] and Abyssapolis (named after the abyss besides the waterfall of Wādī Darbāt) in ancient Greek literature.[4][5][6] 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.[7]
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.[8] After the eclipse of Ḥaḍramawt, Sumhuram was under the influence of the Kingdom of Ḥimyar, as indicated by the Himyarite coins excavated from there.[9] It was finally abandoned in the 5th century, most likely due to the formation of the sandbar blocking the estuary.[1][10]
There are also archaeological ruins on the two promontories at the mouth of Khor Rori. The eastern promontory (Inqitat Mirbat[11]) is better explored than the western promontory (Inqitat Taqah[11]).[12] Inqitat Mirbat, also known as Khatiya or al-Ḥamr al-Sharqiya,[4][13] 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.[14] It was abandoned in the 1st or 2nd century,[14] and re-occupied in the medieval period.[13]
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Dhofar beckons lovers of nature tourism". Ministry of Tourism (Oman). 29 June 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ Bukharin, Mikhail (2002). "The Name of Moscha Limen". In Avanzini, Alessandra (ed.). Khor Rori Report 1. Pisa, Italy: Edizioni Plus. pp. 323–324. ISBN 88-8492-031-0.
- ^ a b Bent, James Theodore (1895). "Exploration of the Frankincense Country, Southern Arabia". The Geographical Journal. 6 (2): 109–133. doi:10.2307/1773739. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 1773739.
- ^ Bent, James Theodore (1895). "The Land of Frankincense and Myrrh". The Nineteenth Century. 38 (224): 595–613.
- ^ Bent, James Theodore; Bent, Mabel Virginia Anna (1900). "The Identification of Abyssapolis". Southern Arabia. London, England: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 268–276.
- ^ "Land of Frankincense". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2000. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.