Carlos Solis
A team of archaeologists from the United Arab Emirates has unearthed a gypsum tablet dating back approximately 1,400 years, featuring a depiction of a cross, on Sir Bani Yas Island in the Abu Dhabi emirate. The Christian symbol was discovered in the courtyard of one of the ancient houses. The discovery has definitively convinced researchers that a series of houses uncovered at the excavation site several decades ago were part of a monastic settlement.
“This is incredibly moving. We never had concrete evidence before that Christians lived in these houses,” said Maria Hayevska, an archaeologist with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism who participated in the dig.
An Island in the Persian Gulf Hides an Ancient Secret
In 1992, researchers excavated nine small houses with an inner courtyard on Sir Bani Yas Island, located 170 kilometers southwest of the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. Nearby, archaeologists discovered a church and monastery dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries AD. However, it remained unclear whether the houses were connected to the monastery.
This year, the team resumed excavations on Sir Bani Yas Island, as reported by Live Science. In the courtyard of one of the houses, the team found a gypsum tablet with a Christian cross carved into it. The artifact, measuring about 30 centimeters in length, convinced researchers that these houses belonged to a monastic settlement. Hayevska says older monks probably lived in these buildings, using them to retreat for solitude and prayer before returning to the main monastery.
Sir Bani Yas was just one of several Christian worship sites in the region at the time. Christianity spread throughout the Persian Gulf between the 4th and 6th centuries, before the emergence of Islam in the 7th century. By the 8th century, the monastery on Sir Bani Yas had been abandoned.
The archaeological team plans to continue its work in the courtyard. In the meantime, the church and monastery are open for visitors.
