Water and power in South Arabia: the excavation of “Monumental Building 1” (MB1) at Sumhuram (Sultanate of Oman)

The ancient port city of Sumhuram (Dhofar Governorate, Sultanate of Oman) has
been the focus of over 20 years of research by the Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO),
University of Pisa, in collaboration with the Office of the Adviser to His Majesty
the Sultan for Cultural Affairs (Muscat-Salalah, Sultanate of Oman). Excavation has
revealed most of the town layout, leading to the identification of several buildings,
alleyways, squares and workshops, among which two massive buildings stand out,
significantly named by the excavators as “Monumental Building” 1 and 2 (MB1 and
MB2). This paper presents the results of the excavation inside MB1, characterised by
the presence of the only well discovered within the city walls, which was previously
interpreted alternatively as a palace or as a temple. The architectural development of
the building, its distinctive features, the archaeological material discovered inside it,
and its chronology will be discussed. These results highlight the absence of fitting
parallels from other ancient South Arabian towns. Overall, it is clear that access to,
management of, and control over the water supply of the town represented a key
asset which justified the huge investment in workforce and building materials that is
reflected in the monumental architecture of this edifice.