Japanese architect Tadao Ando has studied the relationship between the graves and Saar city and came up with a geometrical shape for the new museum, which will open in 2010.

After Dubai and Abu Dhabi, yet another Gulf State is making efforts to become a cultural hub for the region. This time Bahrain, a borderless island country in the Persian Gulfstate of the coast from Saudi Arabia, announced plans for a -of-the-art museum and research centre to be built at a 5000-years old archaeological site in Saar. Conceptual designs have been completed and building work is expected to begin by the end of this year. The designs, sponsored by Durrat Al Bahrain, have been created by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. His design integrates the surrounding area with the building itself. It will be a rectangle divided into two triangles, the larger one for the museum and the smaller for the research centre.

Reports that burial mounds in A’ali were to be removed at night by a construction company have been dismissed by government officials. One MP already had launched a committee to look into allegations that burial mounds were to be removed to give way to development projects. He had reportedly been tipped off by an anonymous caller and was taking the claims seriously by setting up a committee to probe the issue. “The graves won’t be moved, it’s the wrong information and a huge mistake,” said Shaikha Mai, the assistant under-secretary for Culture and National Heritage.

Read more (Gulf Daily News, January 1, 2008)