Each domed tomb comprises a single round or oval chamber about 2 to 3 metres across and constructed of uncut or rough-cut local rock. One-, two- or three-ring walls encircle the chamber and rise to a height of 3-4 metres above the ground. The ring walls gradually slope inwards until they eventually meet forming a dome. A narrow entrance, usually facing south, pierces the wall at the ground level.
The Jebel Hafeet tombs generally contained the remains of two to five people, but could have contained more individuals. This is in contrast to the later Umm an-Nar burial sites on the Arabian Gulf coast, where hundreds of people were buried in a single tomb. In another contrast to Umm an-Nar, limited numbers of pottery vessels were generally found in each Jebel Hafeet tomb.
The extent of trade with distant Bronze Age societies is reflected in the imported Mesopotamian pottery discovered in some of the earliest tombs. Beads also were found in the tombs, the most significant of which were small blue-green tubular beads, perhaps also from Mesopotamia. Another type of bead found at the tombs was made locally of stone shaped in flat and trapezoidal or square shapes.
Spearheads and daggers from the second millennium (2000 BCE to 1000 BCE) have been discovered in the tombs as well, alongside bronze and copper objects, and vessels made of soapstone.
Other objects indicate the tombs remained in use or were re-used in later periods, mainly during the Iron Age (1300 BCE-300 BCE). The phenomenon of Iron Age people reusing old burial sites was common in the region.