Tarout Castle
Tarout Castle, also known as Tarut Palace, Tarut Fort, Portuguese Fort, is an archaeological site in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. It is situated on a hill in the center of Tarut Island, located southwest of Deira, in the eastern part of Qatif Governorate, Saudi Arabia. The hill, known as Tall Tawt, is estimated to be 5,000 years old. The castle itself is believed to date back to the time of the Uyuni state and was later used as a Portuguese defensive point.
The Portuguese renovated the castle in the 16th century, specifically on 29 March 1544 CE, during their occupation of the Persian Gulf. The fort was constructed on the remains of a temple dedicated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte or Inanna, from whom the name "Tarut Island" is derived. The ruins and foundations of the original temple remain visible beneath the castle.
Several statues and pottery pieces dating back to earlier periods have been discovered within Tarut Castle, including artifacts from the Sumer era, the Fatimid Caliphate, and the Dilmun civilization. However, the castle is currently facing several challenges, the structural cracking of its towers, which poses a risk of collapse. Additionally, the drying up of Ain al-Awda, a spring located within the castle, has been attributed to continuous oil extraction in the area. The castle remains closed to the public and is not officially open for visitors or tourists.
Nevertheless, Tarut Castle continues to attract interest from foreign researchers and expeditions, including the Danish archaeological expedition and the renowned researcher Jeffrey Beebe.
Etymology
The castle is often referred to as the Portuguese Fort due to its association with Portuguese conquerors, but it is also known as Tarut Castle, named after the site on which it was constructed. The name "Tarut" is derived from the Sumerian goddess Inanna, whose earliest appearances date back more than 5,000 years, recorded in cuneiform inscriptions in Sumer, southern Iraq. Inanna was symbolized by the octagram, which was used to represent the planet Venus. Over time, her worship spread from the Sumerians to the Akkadians, who called her Ishtar, and later to the peoples of southern Arabia, who referred to her as Athar or Attar. The Canaanites and Hebrews knew her as Ashra or Astarte.The exact reason for the name Tarut is unclear. It may be linked to the construction of a temple dedicated to Ishtar on the site or because the region was historically known as Tarut, reflecting a strong connection between the environment and the goddess during that time. The ancient inhabitants of the island believed that the goddess Ishtar played a role in agriculture and water supply. Given the island's fertility and abundance of water, these beliefs likely shaped their view of Ishtar.
According to legend, the people of ancient Tarut envisioned the goddess as a beautiful young woman who wandered gracefully through the palm groves. As she moved, springs of water would flow behind her, nurturing the land and ensuring bountiful crops. For them, Ishtar was the goddess of fertility, love, and sex. Supporting this belief is the discovery of a pure gold statue representing Ishtarot in one of the island's groves, symbolizing the goddess's importance to the island's ancient culture.
Geography
Tarut Castle is located northwest of the Deira neighborhood on Tarut Hill, in the center of Tarut Island, within the Qatif Governorate in eastern Saudi Arabia. The castle's strategic position was intended to serve as an impregnable fortress, offering protection to the Deira neighborhood in the event of external threats or attacks.Archaeology
Archaeological excavations at Tarut Hill indicate that settlement began as early as the Ubaid period in the fifth millennium BC and continued until the third millennium BC, making it one of the oldest inhabited sites in the Arabian Peninsula. The limited size of the hill and the presence of a prominent fortress suggest that Tarut was more than just a village. Field surveys have shown that the hill is composed of a mixture of clay, dust, and large limestone fragments. Beneath the foundations of the citadel, evidence of ancient structures from the third millennium BC has been uncovered, including monolithic and polished stone pieces, believed to be remnants of an ancient building or multiple structures.The archaeological findings are distributed across four distinct historical periods, representing different stages of settlement on the site. The oldest remains date back to the second Ubaid period, with continuous habitation until the third millennium BC, a time marked by the rise of the Dilmun civilization during the late Barbar period. The historical span of the castle's existence is therefore estimated to range between 4300 BC and 500 BC.
The King Abdulaziz Darat holds numerous artifacts unearthed from the Tarut Fort archaeological site, including a golden statue of Ashtarot, discovered in one of the palm groves on Tarut Island. A wide range of items has been excavated in Tarut, such as statues, copper and pottery vessels, and traditional weapons. Notably, a bowl from the Indus Valley civilization, currently exhibited at the National Museum of Riyadh. The most recent discovery is an ancient war cannon, now displayed at the Dammam Regional Museum.
One of the most important discoveries is a limestone statue found beneath the foundations of Tarut Castle. The statue, which bears characteristics of Sumerian civilization art, depicts a standing, bare-bodied man, measuring 94 cm in height, with his hands crossed in a reverential posture. Three belt-like symbols are carved around the waist. The statue is dated to the Dawn of the Second or Third Dynasties, in the middle of the third millennium BC. It is speculated that the statue may have been a gift from a Mesopotamian to a prominent figure in the Dilmun civilization, symbolizing friendship and goodwill.
In the lower layers of the Tarut Castle mound, archaeologists made a significant discovery: large pottery vessels with triangular bodies and rims, characteristic of the Jemdet Nasr civilization from the Mesopotamian Valley. Additionally, orange-yellow pottery from the Dawn of the Dynasties period was unearthed beneath the castle's foundations.
Pottery from the third millennium BC, known as Dilmun pottery, has also been confirmed through field surveys and excavations at Qal'at Tarut Hill. The Dilmun pottery found in the Eastern Province shows a wide variety of forms, including cylindrical, bell-shaped, and ribbed jars with deep, semi-straight sides, as well as smaller vessels such as curved-sided plates and cups. These artifacts highlight the diversity and craftsmanship of the region's ancient civilizations.
General design
Tarut Castle consists of four towers, constructed to emulate the natural topography of the surrounding area. This architectural approach closely resembles the Portuguese construction methods seen in irregularly shaped Omani castles. The courtyard of the castle is nearly oval, bordering on rectangular, with a deep well at its center. It is surrounded by a thick wall made from mud, plaster, bedding stones, and sticky, unburned mud mortar. The castle's design is often compared to the shape of a crab, with walls ranging in thickness from 1.5 to 2.5 meters and reaching a height of 9 meters.The castle originally featured eleven tall towers connected by extended bridges, which were used as secret passages during wartime. However, only three of these towers remain today. In its earlier years, Tarut Castle served as a fortification for soldiers and as a storage site for ammunition. It also housed a headquarters or office for the governor, as well as a central water well, which was likely used for storing supplies during sieges. Soldiers stationed at the castle were provided with water and dates.
In times of danger, the soldiers used a signaling system by lighting fires within the castle. During the day the smoke would signal imminent danger, and at night the flames would serve as a warning.
Towers
It is noteworthy that the northwestern and southwestern towers are the only two towers consistently visible in all historical photographs of Tarut Castle. In contrast, the two eastern towers do not appear in all older images. The southeastern tower was bombed by forces of the First Saudi State around 1791 AD and remained partially standing until 1916 AD, when it collapsed onto a nearby residence. It was later restored in 1984 AD by the Ministry of Archeology.The northeastern tower, which overlooked the old Tarut market, was completely destroyed during the same period. Evidence suggests that the castle's entrance was located near this tower, as old photographs depict the remains of a stone staircase with three lintels in front of the ruins of the northeastern tower. However, the true shape of the fourth tower remains uncertain due to its destruction over two centuries ago.
Fences
A review of historical photographs of Tarut Castle has revealed the existence of an external wall surrounding the castle, situated within the boundaries of the walled village of Tarut. This wall formed an arched strip extending from the southwest corner of the village. The wall continues from the northwest corner, integrating with the southern dwellings and becoming part of the village's structures. It is also connected to the Tarut bathhouse facilities and sections of the old Tarut market in the northwest.The wall intersects with another structure running west to east, which contains a central door, believed to be the main entrance to Tarut Castle and its village. The height of the surrounding wall ranges between four and six meters. During the Turkish era, an additional meter was added to the height, and the wall was later widened by 0.5 meters, making the total width approximately one meter. The wall's last known restoration occurred during the Ottoman era, between 1871 AD and 1912 AD.
The village of Tarut had two primary gates, known as Darawiza. The first gate, Darawiza Al-Ain, was located near the Tarut market. The second, Darawiza Al-Sharqiya, was situated between Beit Umaybad and Beit Askariya. Integrated into the residential structures, the wall and towers formed part of the two-story houses, extending to cover the first floor. Additionally, a third, smaller gate known as Khadaa allowed farmers access to their fields and provided a route back to the fortress.