A team from the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) has discovered an ancient necropolis in the village of Bilad al Shahoum in the wilayat of Ibri. 

According the ministry, the necropolis has tombs of various shapes, varying from pyramidal, beehive to oval.

Mohammed al Kalbani, head of the survey department in the ministry, informed that the burial structures in Bilad al Shahoum date back to 300BC, built deep in the ground, some 2m below surface level. 

The tombs include human bones, pots made of soapstone from mountains of Oman, and women’s ornaments like earrings made of bronze and beads of various colours and size.

Kalbani said the site is important due to its location near an ancient trade route connecting the coast with the interior of the sultanate. The tombs are near the archeological sites of Bat, Al Khutm and Al Ayn, a necropolis from the 3rd Millennium BC, located near a palm grove that was declared a World Heritage by Unesco in 1988.

According to Kalbani, the large number of pottery items indicates the existence of ancient commercial relations between the sultanate, Sindh and Iran.