REMAINS of a mosque and church in Samaheej dating back to seventh century AD and relics indicating the ‘lost paradise of Dilmun’ have been unearthed in Bahrain, it has been revealed.
The discoveries also included ‘Dilmun gardens’ in the Tylos-era burial mounds in Maqaba.
The archaeological findings of the 2019-2020 season were made public yesterday, on the occasion of World Heritage Day.
Addressing an online Press conference on CultureBah YouTube channel were Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) president Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa and Baca director of museums directorate Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.
“We usually celebrate World Heritage Day together every year. However, this year it is different and we meet you remotely due to Covid-19,” said Shaikha Mai.
“As for the archaeological findings of the 2019-2020 season, we have unearthed many important items all over Bahrain.
“These include the graves of the Tylos period in Maqaba dating from first century AD to second century AD, remains of a large mosque and evidence of water wells connected to it.
“However, possibly one of the most crucial discoveries was a strong indication of the gardens of Dilmun.
“Dilmun gardens have always been considered to be the lost paradise, full of lush greenery and water wells.
“For the first time, we returned to Bahrain Fort to carry out some archaeological digging.
“We found artefacts dating back to seventh century AD which might belong to a church in Samaheej.
“Samaheej was the centre of Christianity before Islam arrived, and even after it.
“This shows the long history of religious tolerance.”
Giving details, Shaikh Khalifa said the season began with archaeological diggings in Samaheej.
He showed an aerial view of a mosque with two rooms, including a prayer room.
“The building is around 17 metres wide and 10 metres high. It is believed to date back to between eighth century AD and 19th century AD.
“We also found another building next to the mosque which could possibly be a church, possibly dating back to seventh century AD.
“Among the findings was a stone which has a cross imprinted on it; another cross was found painted on a pot.”
Also discovered was a burial mound containing a grave dating back to Tylos era in Maqaba where for the first time the skeletons were discovered not buried in burial rooms but on the ground.
“In Goma’s farm in Maqaba we found strong evidence on the lost paradise of Dilmun.
“It is the first time in Bahrain we have found a farm or a ‘Dilmun garden’ under the mounds of Tylos.
“The garden was made up of 355 ponds and samples have been taken to find out the plants existing then.
“In the burial mounds which contains a graveyard from Tylos era we found 16 graves made of stones above the ground level.
“This is unique because we found five skeletons dating back to the Dilmun era under the graveyard of Tylos era.
“Earlier, we found skeletons of the Dilmun era in burial rooms built over the ground or underground.
“However, here we found the skeletons in an open area on the ground; experts are now investigating the reason for this.
“One of the skeletons was taken to Bahrain National Museum for further study.’
Shaikh Khalifa said evidence taken from a previous discovery of Al Mehzza mosque showed that the mosque dated back to 1861 AD.
In addition, further inspections of artefacts in Wadi Al Sail and Maqaba showed the Tadmur artefacts during trading between Tylos and Tadmur (Syria) and India.
“We also found glass pottery, containing a skeleton holding a bag containing 10 bronze coins, in Sleem graveyard.
“This was the first time we found coins in the hands of a buried person.
“We also found pottery dating back to 50BC in the same graveyard.
“In Wadi Al Sail we also found nine burial mounds dating back to the Dilmun era where human and animal skeletons were found.
“Pottery dating back to the civilisation of Umm Al Nar culture in Arabian peninsula shows the trading between Dilmun and other civilisations.
“A total of 80,000 burial mounds are said to have been made during the Dilmun era but many have been destroyed during construction since the 1960s and 1970s.
“Drones will also be used to find more burial mounds around Bahrain,” said Shaikh Khalifa.
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