One of the Earliest Christian Buildings in Bahrain Discovered

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Reported by Ancient Origins:

Archaeologists have discovered evidence for one of the earliest Christian buildings in all the Arabian Gulf, producing physical evidence for a long-lost community. Uncommon with the Gulf today, the Christian Church of the East or the Nestorian Church, once thrived in the region until Islam was introduced after the religion was established in 610 AD.

Located in Samahij, Bahrain, radiocarbon dating of the building indicates that it was occupied between the mid-4th and the mid-8th centuries AD. The site was abandoned after the population converted to Islam. Its identity as a Christian site is shown by three plaster crosses found, two of which decorated the building and another which looks as if it had been carried or kept as a personal memento. Another indicator is a piece of graffiti scratched into the plaster of a Chi-Rho and a fish, early Christian symbols.

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