Rivers, Lakes of Saudi Arabia

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Certainly, South Arabia was once endowed with many rivers and lakes

and consequently, traversed by many roads, in particular across the

Rub al-Khali. The evidence for this comes from vessels and implements

associated with the Neolithic Period which were found along the length

of the route and at various sites throughout the Arabian peninsula.

Further evidence came in the form of paintings on rock faces in the

west of the peninsula and in Yemen. Finds along the route to Sumer in

Iraq were all characterised by the same feats of decoration.

 

>From the earliest times, Dhofar was a habitat uniquely suited to the

cultivation of the frankincense bush, although it appears that the use

of frankincense as a traded commodity did not occur before the

Neolithic Period, some 8000 years previous. During the Islamic Era,

frankincense trade traversed the routes of the Neolithic Period which

were constructed by the Arabs and Romans. The frankincense route from

Oman to Egypt travelled by way of the Negev and Sinai. Thus, trade may

have occurred between the Arabian peninsula and Dhofar during the

Neolithic Period.

 

Oman did not confine its exports to raw frankincense, or olibanum. By

blending this with a form of tallow, it was possible to process it

into incense for religious rites. Ivory and perfumes were also among

Oman's exports during the Neolithic Period. Investigative surveys

stumbled on a quantity of Sumerian tablets bearing the name bokhur

(incense) and records have described bokhur as "extracted from the

frankincense bush".

 

In conclusion, from approximately 5000 BC to around 1800 BC, Iraq's

need for incense, as supplied by Dhofar, grew. Some time around 2000

BC the region probably witnessed a change of climate and the

environment began to experience drought and gradual desertification.

This happened around the time inhabitants began to domesticate the

camel for use in the overland caravan route. Archaeological findings

in the peninsula and in Egypt prove that the land trade became an

established reality circa 1500 BC.

 

At all events, the locality known as Shasir was the Nejd/Dhofar

district's principal trade centre for the northern land route which

began at the start of the Neolithic Period and which appears to have

been associated with trade between Dhofar and the north of the Arabian

peninsula to Sumer in the south of Iraq. It is possible that the trade

links between Dhofar and Sumer extended from the earliest times to

trade with Gaza and Ancient Egypt.

 

Shasir continued to thrive after the end of the Bronze and Iron ages.

Recent excavations have unearthed traces of fine buildings, suggesting

a well-populated place on the trading activities of its citizens.

During the Middle Ages, many sources refer to their uncommon

enterprise in the export of incense, horses and gum. It is likely that

Shasir retained its trading prominence up to the start of the 16th

century, when its inhabitants left and relocated in the surrounding

regions.

http://www.omanet.om/english/history/sec_first.asp?cat=hist