The Maritime Archaeology of Al Hallaniyah, Khuriya Muriya Islands, Oman

Al Hallaniyah is the only inhabited of the five Khuriya Muriya Islands located in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Oman. They lie on a number of historic global maritime routes are mentioned by several early writers. Research conducted by Blue Water Recoveries in 1998 indicted that the island may also be the site of the wrecks of two Portuguese Naus, lost during the fourth Portuguese Armada to the Indies. In 2013-215 Blue Water Recoveries led a team from the US, UK and Oman to survey the underwater cultural heritage of, Ghubbat ar Rahib Bay, off the coast of Al Hallanyah and later to conduct an excavation with Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture of a 16th century European shipwreck located during this survey. The symposium details the capacity building within Oman that has resulted from both the survey and subsequent multidisciplinary research that resulted from this work.