Joseph Allen notes that one of the intriguing discoveries he made while on tour in the area of Salalah was a possible correlation between the Dhofar region and Bountiful:
We were told by two parties, a local guide from India and a native Arab from the desert, that Dhofar means “bountiful or plentiful.” Before our arrival in the region we were not aware of this significant possibility.
[Joseph L. Allen, “LDS Group Blazes Lehi’s Trail” in Joseph L. Allen ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue V, 2000, p. 6 ]
“We Did Come to the Land Which We Called Bountiful”
According to Paul Hedengren, all the conditions of the land Bountiful are satisfied along the north-east coast of Oman. Lehi would have traveled “eastward” from Nahom through the center of the Arabian peninsula (see illustration); there are sufficient wells and suitable environs to sustain the party, though there certainly would be times of thirst and hunger. The southern part of eastern Oman from Muscat to Ras al Hadd (see illustration) may contain the precise site for Bountiful. Wadi Falaij near Sur, Oman would certainly be a prime candidate. [Paul Hedengren, The Land of Lehi: Further Evidence for the Book of Mormon, p. 32]
1 Nephi 17:5 We did come to the land which we called Bountiful (Hedengren Theory) [[Illustration] (A) Travel from Nahom to Bountiful. (B) Eastern Oman near Ras al Hadd. [Paul Hedengren, The Land of Lehi: Further Evidence for the Book of Mormon, pp. 31, 32]
We Called It Bountiful
In his article, “And They Called the Place Tulan,” Clate Mask says,
In their description of Wadi Sayq, the Astons write, the valley has its beginnings some sixteen miles inland amid rolling desert country averaging about 4,000 feet altitude north of Sarfait. The wadi soon becomes a well-defined and narrow (typically about 100 feet across) pathway through very steep limestone mountains, descending gradually to sea level as the coast is approached.
They seem to be describing a ravine. The Maya-Quiche historical documents, The Title of the Lords of Totonicapan and the Popol Vuh say that their ancestors’ Old World point of departure was “Civan-Tulan” or “Bountiful-in-the-Ravine.” [Clate Mask, “And They Called the Place Tulan,” p. 2]
1 Nephi 17:5 We called [it] Bountiful ([Illustration] Figures 14, 15, and 16. 3-D maps of Wadi Sayq showing the valley leading from the desert interior to the coast. [Warren and Michaela Aston, In the Footsteps of Lehi, pp. 50-51]
“And We Did Come to the Land Which We Called Bountiful”
Nephi very precisely explains that “we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey” (1 Nephi 17:5). In a recent study, the Astons presented evidence that according to all the mentioned requirements for the location of Bountiful (fruit, honey, ore, mountains, timber for a ship, etc.), the most likely site of “Bountiful” was the Wadi Sayq. In addition, we have to wonder if these reasons given for naming this area “Bountiful” also applied to the name “Bountiful” given to the lands in the New World.
The Astons say that the text makes it clear that the place to which the Liahona had led [Lehi’s group] was more than just a welcome contrast to the almost waterless desert wastes encountered after Nahom… . When we closely examine the direct and implied references about Bountiful in the First Book of Nephi, a surprisingly detailed profile of the place emerges.
1. First, of course there is a clear relationship between the locations of Bountiful and Nahom. Bountiful was “nearly eastward” of Nahom (1 Nephi 17:1). Given the Nephites’ ability to determine direction with great accuracy, we should expect Bountiful to lie close to the 16th degree north latitude, just as Nehem does.
2. The terrain and water sources from Nahom onward permitted reasonable access from the interior deserts to the coast.
3. Nephi’s usage of the term Bountiful appears to indicate that both the general area (1 Nephi 17:5, 7) and the particular location where the Lehites camped (1 Nephi 17:6) were fertile.
4. Bountiful was a coastal location (1 Nephi 17:5) (it would logically have to be on the east coast of Arabia), suitable for a seashore encampment (1 Nephi 17:6) and the construction and launching of a sizable ship (1 Nephi 18:8)
5. It was very fertile, notable for its “much fruit” and honey (1 Nephi 17:5, 6; 18:6) and perhaps small game that could be hunted (1 Nephi 18:6). Agricultural and fishing pursuits are additional possible food sources, although not mentioned in the text.
6. Enough timber of types and sizes to permit the construction of a vessel able to carry several dozen persons and remain seaworthy for at least a year was readily available (1 Nephi 18:1, 2, 6).
7. Freshwater supplies available year-round would have been necessary for the extended stay required for the building of the ship.
8. There was a mountain prominent enough to justify Nephi’s reference to it as “the mount” (1 Nephi 17:7, 18:3) and also near enough to the coastal encampment that he could go there to “pray oft” (1 Nephi 18:3).
9. The incident of Nephi‘s brothers’ attempting to throw him into the depths of the sea (1 Nephi 17:48) makes sense only if there were substantial cliffs overlooking the ocean.
10. Ore from which metal could be smelted and tools fashioned was available in the vicinity (1 Nephi 17:9-11,16) together with flint (verse 11), seemingly near the ore source.
11. That Nephi required a specific revelation and great effort to locate ore and fashion tools indicates that, despite the attractiveness of the place, Bountiful may have had little or no resident population that could contribute tools and manpower to the ship-building process.
12. Suitable winds and ocean currents were required to carry the vessel out into the ocean (1 Nephi 18:8, 9) (pp. 27-29).
Our program of exploration undertaken over several years attempted, in a systematic manner, to develop a body of objective, reliable, and complete data on the Arabian coast in order to evaluate possible sites for Bountiful. With completion of the coastal exploration in April 1992, we determined that only six locations approached even minimal requirements for Bountiful (defined as an accessible coastal location with a freshwater source) in any degree (p. 37).
[Five of them] fall short of reflecting the picture Nephi gives us of [Bountiful]. [However], hidden from the outside world and largely unknown even within its own country today, [the] last candidate not only meets the criteria unusually well but provides us with new insights into the story of Lehi. This remarkable place is Wadi Sayq (River Valley), a valley some sixteen miles long leading from the desert to the ocean on the Qamar coast of Oman. The coastal mouth of this valley, Khor Kharfot (Fort Inlet) is the most fertile coastal location on the Arabian Peninsula with abundant freshwater, large trees, fruit, and vegetation (p. 43).
The following is a summary of the qualifications of Wadi Sayq, as listed by the Astons:
1. Wadi Sayq is “nearly eastward” or about a half a degree latitude north of Nahom/Jawf (Wadi Sayq is at 16 degrees 44 minutes) (p. 54).
2. Apart from narrow and difficult foot trails along the coast or down the mountain sides, the wadi itself offers the only proper land access to the coast at this point (p. 49).
3. Only the three Qamar candidates (of which Wadi Sayq is one), lying on a ten-mile strip of coastline, can be described as being part of a larger area fertile enough to also be called Bountiful. The area of these three places fits the description of the “land of Bountiful,” with Wadi Sayq as the “place Bountiful” (p. 54).
4. Coastal access is possible (p. 54).
5. Only Wadi Sayq has such natural fertility that an arriving traveler would find uncultivated “fruit” already available near the ocean as Nephi indicates, the prime factor giving rise to the descriptive name given the place. The fruit referred to (and it was noteworthy for its abundance, not necessarily its variety) was probably the date palm, a tree that requires huge quantities of water. The mention of honey may not only refer to the obvious bee honey, which can readily be found in Wadi Sayq, but can also refer to the syrup extracted from such fruits as figs, dates, and grapes (p. 54).
6. Only the three candidates on the Qamar coast (of which Wadi Sayq is one) have accessible timber trees. Timber and vegetation approach the ocean closer at Wadi Sayq than elsewhere and in greater abundance (p. 55).
7. Wadi Sayq incorporates the largest freshwater source on the Arabian coast (p. 54).
8. Rakhyut and Wadi Sayq are alone in having a coastal mount upon which Nephi could retire to pray oft (p. 55).
9. High cliffs are found at the western extremities of Khor Kharfot (Wadi Sayq) and at several points on the Salalah coast, but not elsewhere (p. 55).
10. Inland from Wadi Sayq and Dhalqut are the only known flint deposits in the vicinity (p. 55).
The most likely metal that Nephi could have located is copper or a copper-based alloy; significant quantities of copper have been mined in northern Oman for thousands of years, whereas iron is almost unknown. Excavated sites indicate that a pear-shaped furnace about two feet high was used with skin bellows (1 Nephi 17:11), allowing a temperature of 1,150 degrees C to be reached. Small pieces of sulphidic ore mixed with charcoal were introduced into the furnace and the process repeated until a fairly pure copper resulted. This was poured into a hole in the ground to cool. Nephi may have used the same or a similar method (pp. 55-56).
11. The unique geography of Wadi Sayq effectively isolates any coastal community from the surrounding region. We cannot be sure that the Lehites were alone while at Bountiful; the coastal area, Khor Kharfot, has periodically been home to communities from well before Lehi’s time. If however, the coastal delta was uninhabited during their brief stay (perhaps three years), we can understand why Nephi had to seek specific revelations to locate ore and fashion his own tools (p. 56).
12. Departing from any of the candidate areas would allow travel east across the Indian Ocean utilizing the various monsoon winds (p. 56).
In conclusion, the well-watered and uniquely fertile Wadi Sayq is the candidate that most closely fits the Book of Mormon Bountiful. The highly specific details recorded in scripture, coupled with the essentially unchanging physical nature of the Arabian coast, make it possible to propose this with greater confidence than would usually be justified. [Warren and Michaela Aston, In the Footsteps of Lehi] [See also Noel B. Reynolds, “Lehi’s Arabian Journey Updated,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 382-387]
Note* All of the Astons criteria seem reasonable, yet they have made one interpretation on #11 which might come into question. They reason that because “Nephi required a specific revelation and great effort to locate ore and fashion tools indicates that, despite the attractiveness of the place, Bountiful may have had little or no resident population that could contribute tools and manpower to the ship-building process.” This reasoning is not confirmed by the record on the small plates. If Nephi was travelling along the frankincense trail, he would have unquestionably been associated with tribal peoples with their associated claims to territorial land, water and other associated resources; yet, Nephi does not choose to make these facts a part of his record. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]