In 1991, an unsuspecting visitor on a trip to Sir Bani Yas Island stumbled upon one of the most significant archaeological finds in the Arabian Gulf.
Today, the remains of a 7th-century monastery and church lie uncovered on the same site where Carolyn Lehmann first spotted shards of pottery inside a llama pen nearly two decades ago. The ruins are the first evidence of Christianity in the pre-Islamic period in the UAE, and the site marks the farthest east a Christian settlement has been found in the Arabian Gulf.
"This is the best-preserved Christian monastic site anywhere in eastern Arabia, and as far as we know, it is the most extensively excavated," said Peter Hellyer, the excavation's project manager and a columnist for The National. "No one else in the Gulf has anything like this."
Under the instruction of Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, who used Sir Bani Yas Island as a personal retreat, archaeological teams unearthed a multi-building complex probably belonging to the Nestorian Church and dating to about the year 600. Surveys and excavations that continued until 1996 uncovered ornate plaster fragments decorated with crosses, palm leaves and vine scrolls and various pieces of pottery.
The main compound, the monastery, was discovered to have been dominated by a church that was covered inside and out with a fine decorated plaster. In 1994, the excavation team identified 15 rooms and two courtyards on the site and determined the complex included a functional area, with a trough for watering animals on its northern side, and a kitchen that contained remnants of bones and shells.
Other buildings, believed to be single courtyard houses, ringed the outside of the monastery, and researchers found pieces of glass vessels and cisterns near the dwellings.
Other Nestorian churches have been discovered in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but the Sir Bani Yas site was the first to include a monastic settlement. Archaeological findings also provide evidence of Nestorian adherents in the northeast Arabian peninsula, Mesopotamia (which broadly corresponds to modern-day Iraq) and Iran during the same time.
"There are no names for this place or anyone who lived here," said Dr Joseph Elders, the project's chief archaeological director. "We don't know much, but it is quite clear that this was an important monastery."
Islam came to what is now the UAE in approximately 636 when messengers arrived carrying letters from the Prophet Mohammed. Experts believe the Sir Bani Yas Island settlement was most likely abandoned by 750 when the inhabitants either converted to Islam or moved. With a diminishing population and a lack of recruits, the community might have just faded away.
There is no evidence the settlement was destroyed. The walls of the monastery, church and houses appear to have simply fallen over as a result of weathering or weakening because of rising salt levels in the stonework.
Excavation was hindered by centuries of damage. As the buildings slowly decayed, the ruins were used by transient fishermen and pearl divers as a place to sleep and cook.
Later, the British Navy used one of the buildings on the site for target practice. That same structure was severely damaged by large animals from the island's wildlife collection trampling on it.
Portions of the monastic buildings were bulldozed and enclosed within fences during major dredging, landfill and planting operations on the island between 1971 and 2006.
Fieldwork on the site was closed in 1996 but resumed late last year as part of efforts to bolster tourism on Sir Bani Yas Island, which has a resort and a wildlife preserve.
Future surveys are planned for the next several years, even as tourists will be allowed to visit the site. Researchers hope to uncover more buildings and pottery and a source of water for the settlement. The team has yet to find a cemetery, which would reveal more about the way the community lived.
By next year, the houses will be better preserved and may be on display for tourists.
Mr Elders said the visitor experience will change as the team continues to make new discoveries.
"Now, what we want to do is excavate the entire complex," he said. "It will constantly be a new experience."
* The National
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
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The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills