Ancient quarantine chambers discovered in Oman

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, represented by the Directorate General of Antiquities, has documented the presence of around 81 isolation chambers around Oman. The study was commissioned since last year to document an inventory list of old health quarries spread across various governorates in Oman.

These quarries were used to quarantine patients with infectious diseases such as plague, smallpox and other such that existed during those times. These diseases that were highly infectious, which now stand eradicated globally, had to be contained to stop the spread. The isolation chambers ranged from stand-alone stone buildings and valleys to big caves chambers.

The presence of these quarries indicates the awareness people of the region had about the seriousness of infectious epidemics and the need to isolate patients to avoid its spread. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism will use the study results to conduct more extensive research on this subject.

Early this year, a group of adventure enthusiasts discovered a new cave in the Al Khatam Mountain in the wilayat of Amerat. The cave, which has many chambers and corridors, is believed to have been used for copper mining in olden days.