Bahrain Date Palm map

How to explore this map: Click on the points to learn about the locations of date palms in Bahrain (and their quantities) documented in John Gordon Lorimer’s of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia

Context: This map’s dataset is based on values extracted from entries of the Geographical and Statistical section of Lorimer’s Gazetteer. The entries we used for this map include “Bahrain Island”, “Bahrain Principality”, “Muharraq Island”, “Muharraq Town”, “Nabi Salih” and “Sitrah”. The map shows the location of date palms in Bahrain in 1907 and the size of the points on the map are relative to their quantity.

Geolocation: The text of the entries were annotated in Recogito. The geographical coordinates are provided by GeoNames (with the GeoNames ID found in the dataset). Three points were taken from Google Maps (Hūrah, Kulaib and Muqshā). The entry for Muqshā was not correct in GeoNames.

Notes on data decisions: We have chosen to map places where Lorimer’s Gazetteer lists a quantity of date palms (for example, “100 date-palms”, “Date trees numbered 100”, “Date palms number between 2500-3000”). In the case that Lorimer mentions sites with “a wild cluster”, “many date groves” or “extensive date plantations”, but does not give specific numbers, we have not included these sites in this dataset. When Lorimer specifies a range (as above 2500-3000), we chose the smaller value arbitrarily.

Further mapping: We see some ways that could extend this map to account for

  • The cases of the irrigation channels watering “many date groves” or “extensive date plantations”
  • The number of wells and their water quality as we have done here</li>

Unidentified locations: In building this dataset from Lorimer’s Gazetteer, we were unable to locate one place (spelled alternatively Rūzak-kān, Rūzakhān or روزكّان that is situated ¼ of a mile east of Qal’at Al-‘Ajāj). If you can locate this on a map, or know what the place is called today, write us at opengulfNYUAD@gmail.com. Thanks in advance! We will acknowledge your local knowledge.

License for this map (including map data): Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC-SA International Creative Commons License

Suggested Citation: OpenGulf Project (2020). Protection of the Pearling Industry Map. https://opengulf.github.io/dates.html. Accessed xxxx.yy.zz. 10.5281/zenodo.3955081

Last update: 23 July 2020