The National Museum of Oman

Enhancing Knowledge and Perception of Omani Heritage The National Museum of Oman

The ArCHIAM Centre is an interdisciplinary forum currently based at University of Liverpool which brings together a wide range of researchers interested in the study of the architecture and cultural heritage of India, Arabia and the Maghreb.

Cutting across traditional disciplinary boundaries, the Centre provides an exciting opportunity for the study of both historical and contemporary phenomenon with an aim of developing theoretical positions but also through practice-based research.

ArCHIAM welcomes possibilities of establishing connections across the wider academic and professional communities through doctoral research programmes, collaborations and networking opportunities.

Prof Soumyen Bandyopadhyay / Director CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF

ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA, ARABIA AND THE MAGHREB

RESEARCH AND DESIGN TEAM PROF SOUMYEN BANDYOPADHYAY Principal Investigator/Director

DR GIAMILA QUATTRONE Project Coordinator

DR MARTIN S. GOFFRILLER Research Fellow

DR M HABIB REZA Research Fellow

MANWINDER LALL

External Contributor

CHRISTINA PIERI

External Contributor

Edited by: Konstantina Georgiadou All rights reserved. No part of this brochure may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of copyright holder.

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Introduction

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Presentation Material

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The Exhibition

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Impact

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Contents

The Museum The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman was established under a Royal Decree, issued on November 20, 2013. It opened its doors on July 30, 2016, and is an excellent showcase of Oman’s cultural heritage dating back two million years.

The National Museum is considered to be a vital project that aims to achieve a cultural and humanitarian mission, raising public awareness, cementing the Omani noble values, activating the belonging of the citizen, resident and visitor to Oman, its history, heritage, culture and developing their creative and intellectual abilities.

ArCHIAM was invited to contribute to the exhibitions both with presentation material (drawings, still images and animations), the curation of parts of the galleries and the development of contents for incorporation into touch screens.

1 Introduction

2 Presentation Material

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Drawings

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3D Visualisations

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3D Visualisations and Animations

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3D Visualisations

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3 The Galleries

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Aflāj Gallery The Aflāj Gallery is dedicated to Oman’s ancient systems of water management, some 3,000 of which are still active today. These life-giving systems use gravity to channel water from precious water resources under or above ground, often for long distances, and carry groundwater, spring water or surface water in support of agriculture, industry and domestic use.

In 1427 AH/2006 CE, five Omani aflāj were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in recognition of their exceptional cultural value. They include Falaj Daris, Falaj al-Khatmayn and Falaj al-Malki in adDakhiliyah Governorate, Falaj al-Muyassar in South al-Batinah Governorate and Falaj al-Jeela in South ash-Sharqiyah Governorate.

A large scale wooden model showing the aflāj UNESCO World Heritage Site (left photograph) was created on the basis of digital drawings provided

by ArCHIAM. The model forms a centrepiece in the Aflāj Gallery.

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Civilisation in the Making Gallery The Civilisation in the Making Gallery explores Oman’s architectural heritage beginning with the Civilisation of Magan and continuing through to modern times. Its content spans more than 5,000 years and covers numerous archaeological sites and buildings of historic, artistic, intellectual, social and technical significance.

The gallery consists of six sections. The first section focuses on Bahla Fort and Oasis, which were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1407−08 AH/1987 CE. The second section describes the main historical political capitals of Oman. The third section is dedicated to the architecture of forts and castles in Oman and their unique historical contexts. The fourth section focuses on rural palaces and fortified houses and the fifth section delineates various types of residential housing. The final section explains the aesthetics of traditional Omani architecture.

The ArCHIAM team played a major role in the development and organisation of contents.The feature wall was curated by Soumyen Bandyopadhyay.

Additionally physical models of traditional buildings were created on the basis of the ArCHIAM’s drawings.

Video animations screened on exhibition monitors were also produced by ArCHIAM. ArCHIAM | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF OMAN

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4 Impact

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National and International Impact As a national institution with global outreach, the National Museum is dedicated to ensuring Oman’s cultural heritage is understood and appreciated not only within the Sultanate, but also internationally.

Further, it aims to provide opportunities for cultural expression, innovation, and the transfer of traditional skills and knowledge from one generation to the next. It is also the first public building in the Sultanate that includes advanced facilities for disabled people, including exhibits with Arabic Braille captions.

Jamal Al Moosawi, acting director general of the museum, said that the museum aims to attract 120,000 visitors during the first 12 months.

In liason with the ticketing service ArCHIAM is currently recording visitor numbers in order to obtain a picture of visitation patterns. To complement this data with more specific information on the two galleries, ArCHIAM is currently recording footfall through use of a hand counter.

Honorary Associate, Dr Haitham Al-Abri, is conducting interviews with both visitors and the museum senior management team. ArCHIAM aims to collate media material and is planning to record visitor satisfaction through the installation of tablets at the entrances of the two gallery spaces.

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CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA, ARABIA AND THE MAGHREB www.archiam-centre.com

Prof. Soumyen Bandyopadhyay soumyenb@liverpool.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0) 7 588 579 084

Leverhulme Building, Abercromby Square University of Liverpool, L69 7ZN