Near to the palm groves of the village of al Hamra stands a 6
meter high rock of massive limestone at the edge of the wadi. The
rock, named “Hasat bin Sult” or “Hasat bani
Salt”, is carved in bas-relief with four life-sized human
figures. These rock carvings are unique for the entire Arabian
peninsula as they depict a strong man with bulging biceps dressed
in a skirt, a woman with a decorated head-dress, a small child to
the right and what could be a second older child to the left.
Nowhere else have comparable carvings been discovered!
Dating this rock art is very difficult as it is not related to
any other building, artefact or layer which could give clues to its
age. It certainly is pre-Islamic given the depiction of the human,
and more specifically the female form. Given the observable
weathering it is likely to be some 3000 to 4000 years old.
There is a rather gruesome tale about these carvings handed down
by the local population: The figures depict a father, a mother and
their child. The child had been born deformed whereupon the father
hurled it against the rock, killing it. To punish them the heavens
imprisoned the parents along with their dead child in the rock as a
memorial to the crime of infanticide.
A more likely explanation for the carvings offers themselves
when one considers the rather suggestive shape of the mountain next
to which the large rock is found. This remarkable vertical outcrop
was visible from large distances, and is similar to the
“lingams” seen in the Indian sub-continent. The rock
decorated with the carvings of human figures contains itself a flat
table on the top which suggests that this may well have been used
in pre-historic times as an altar for a fertility cult; the
carvings depicting either god-like figures to be worshipped or a
couple with the offspring they would hope to get if the correct
offerings were made.
The carvings are best observed when the sunlight falls on the
carvings in an oblique fashion, highlighting the subtle differences
in height with highlights and shadows. The best time to observe the
carvings will depend on the season of the year but will generally
be in the early to mid-morning. When we visited in March the
optimal time was 10:00 am.
A cache has been hidden some 50 m from the rock and consists of
a lock-n-lock container camouflaged in a light-brown sock. It
contains the usual paraphernalia of a logbook and pencil along with
some swag. As always when geocaching in desert countries please be
aware that rocks are favourite shelters for snakes and scorpions
trying to find some shade from the blazing sun.
To reach the cache take the turn-off to al Hamra on the Nizwa
– Bahla road. Proceed towards al Hamra until reaching the
coordinates given below and turn off to the right onto a gravel
path at a small signpost reading “Hasat bin Sult”.
Follow the gravel path past some date palm farms until reaching a
wide wadi. On the opposite side of the wadi, at the coordinates
given below, the prominent rock will be clearly visible.
Please respect these priceless pre-historical carvings and
handle the rock and its surroundings with the greatest care. Alas,
visiting muggles have already defaced the bottom of the rock with
painted graffiti and carved initials. Let the visiting geocaching
community be a ‘force for good’.
Congratulations to Saleen007
for being First to Find on this cache.
______________________________
Reference: Jan Schreurs: Hasat Bin
Sult