Below the murky waters of the Gulf, stone and plaster tell a story of unexpected coexistence—and Manama has just opened a new chapter. On September 16 the Bahrain National Museum was the site of a scientific seminar entitled “Christian archaeological sites in Eastern Arabia: a shared heritage,” a 2-day gathering of archaeologists, academics, and heritage professionals aimed at detailing the little-discussed Christian past of the region and determining a future for its preservation.
The seminar, organized with the King Hamad Global Center for Coexistence and Tolerance, showed how archaeological finds from various islands and coastal areas—from Samaheej in Muharraq to Failaka in Kuwait and Sir Bani Yas in the UAE—are changing our understanding of cultural boundaries during Late Antiquity and the early medieval periods. High-level presenters, including the Director General of Antiquities for the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Chairman of the Authority, stressed that these Christian remains are not curiosities but are part of the Gulf’s multicultural biography.
The first day was akin to an archaeological road trip, with thorough investigations on the Samaheej site (currently cited as among the oldest Christian buildings in the Gulf), inquiries about Qusur on Failaka Island, and recent discoveries from Sir Bani Yas concerning local churches in a larger network reaching as far as Iraq to Kuwait.
The participants learned how ordinary objects—a carved cross in mud, glass containers, everyday domestic materials—provided evidence of what, at that time, likely were monastic churches and communities—navels included—that existed long before the modern nation-state.
Perhaps the most evocative finds for participants were those identified on Sir Bani Yas. Archaeologists unearthed an inscribed cross-plaque and monastic site, which are amongst the earliest known references to the Church of the East (sometimes called Nestorian), which offers a tangible example of Christian devotional life on an island kilometers from wildlife reserves and world-class resorts. These discoveries suggest that the Gulf region engaged in trade routes, intellectual exchanges, and religious mingling centuries ago.
In addition to the excavation reports, the seminar dealt with urgent next steps: to address research gaps, to use current tools to improve documentation, and to develop cross-border regional collaboration with respect to site management. Conference participants agreed that ensuring the preservation of these vulnerable sites, which are at risk from development, erosion, and sand, will require concerted cross-border planning so that the richest palimpsest of civilizations on the Gulf can be read for generations to come.
If the islands of the Gulf represent pages, then the recent excavations are uncovering entire paragraphs that were previously missing from the archaeological record. As scholars are returning to Manama to develop fieldwork, the question is clear: assuming that the past is a mosaic, every piece is essential to reading the fuller mosaic of the past, from the stonework in Samaheej to ancient seals found in Failaka.
