Manama, November 19 (BNA) An international team of archaeologists has recently excavated some exciting discoveries in the village of Samaheej and the town of Muharraq.
Led by Professor Tim Insol and Dr Rachel MacLean from the University of Exeter in the UK, they worked with colleagues from the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), led by Dr. Salman Al-Mahari, Director of Antiquities and Museums. A partnership that has been successfully operating for a number of years.
In Samaheej, the team continued the excavations that began in 2019 at an ancient Christian site, the first site found in Bahrain, dating back to the sixth century AD.
This year they discovered more about the building and identified the kitchen area, the common dining hall, the work room and the two living rooms.
The living rooms were originally decorated with finely carved stucco, implying that the building was the home of a person of wealth and importance – perhaps even the roofs of Mashmahij (now Samahij).
Evidence of a Christian diet was revealed this year when a pig’s jawbone was found on the premises. In the working room, 3 beautiful spindles (for spinning threads), made of glass, alabaster and ivory, were found near 3 bronze needles, indicating that embroidery was an important activity.
Finally, the team’s favorite discovery this year was an oyster shell that was shaped and painted with a face!
Working in Muharraq proved equally fortunate. Here the team was looking for the nearest Islamic (Umayyad) settlement on the island, which is located more than 3 meters below the surface of the earth.
This year they succeeded and found a very large storage jar, about a meter in diameter, from this period and set in a paved floor. It was so large that it took two days to safely remove it and take it to the museum. This is the most complete example of a storage bowl ever found.
It appears that early Christians may have also lived in this part of Muharraq, and not just in Samaheej, where the team also discovered a small bone or ivory cross. Another very interesting bowl was also found here.
Sealed with a pot lid and an oyster shell, and probably hidden in the 16th-17th century when Bahrain was a more turbulent place, this pot appears to be filled with small coins wrapped in textiles – an actual buried treasure! It is in the process of CT scanning to safely examine its contents prior to restoration, further pioneering work for Bahrain as this is the first time such a scientific process has been used for archaeology in the country.
For more information about this treasure, it was examined using a computerized tomography (CT scan), in cooperation with Salmaniya Medical Complex, whose medical and administrative staff showed interest and cooperation to implement this pioneering step for the Kingdom of Bahrain, as this is the first time such scientific technology has been used for science monuments in the country.
Inspection revealed the pot’s poor condition that required careful restoration, and showed that the vase was full of small coins and some large coins at the bottom.
NS