18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

British archaeologists unearth the 1200-year-old man-made island

A team holding excavations and archaeological surveys on the historic Al Sayah Island in Muharraq, Bahrain found that it’s ‘man-made’, and created in the middle of the Sea around a freshwater spring at least 1,200 years ago.

Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, along with a British team led by Professor Robert Carter, started excavation works on the historical island of Al Sayah at the end of January, as part of the “Maria” excavation project.

Director of the Cultural Institution Museums and Antiquities Department Dr. Salman Al-Mahari points out that, contrary to previous beliefs, the island is unnatural. The earlier belief was that the island was the aftereffect of some natural phenomenon.

According to Dr. Al-Mahari, the island is one of the oldest examples of sea filling practices.

Al Sayah İsland
Al Sayah İsland.

Studies also show that Al Sayah played a crucial role in the pearling history of Bahrain, which was also well known for its freshwater springs. These springs were known locally as Kawkab or Chochab.

“Preliminary results of the excavations show that the island was a water supply station dating back to the early Islamic Era. Or perhaps before that!” said Professor Robert Carter, head of the team.

Professor Robert Carter explained the technique used to build the island to the News of Bahrain.

For this, they first created a cistern or a water reservoir around to spring to contain freshwater emerging from the rocky seafloor. “They created a thick circular wall around that to form a small island or fewer than 20 meters wide. then later, it was fortified by creating another curved wall to form an island of about 40 meters wide.”

 According to Dr. Al-Mahari, the island is one of the oldest examples of sea filling practices.
According to Dr. Al-Mahari, the island is one of the oldest examples of sea filling practices.

“Finally, they created straight walls on the south and east sides of the island, which intersected with each other rectangular cabins. They also used large coral blocks to create a platform of the ısland that was more than 60 meters in length from one to the other. The excavation also led to a small building next to the spring with a mechanism for raising water.”

“So that freshwater can be drawn continuously and distributed to boats anchored along the quay. Old piles of pearl oysters mixed with pottery from the seventh to eighth centuries AD cover most parts of the island.”

The research is the first systematic marine and underwater archeology survey in Bahrain.

Bahrain has started to protect the island, which has almost started to disappear, by registering it on the National Heritage List.

Related Articles

Marble inlay floors found in a Sunken Roman villa in Baia, the Las Vegas of the ancient world

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

Expansion of research activities in the Terme del Lacus area in the sunken Baia park, known as the ‘Las Vegas’...

2,000-year-old financial record uncovered on Pilgrimage Road in the City of David, Jerusalem

17 May 2023

17 May 2023

A financial record dating back 2,000 years has been unearthed on the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David, Jerusalem’s...

The New Study Says the Iranian Plateau in the Pleistocene is a Bridge Between East and West

19 May 2021

19 May 2021

Iranian researchers say the Iranian plateau served as a migration route between East and West during the Pleistocene period, which...

The Splendor of the Seven Descending Gods of Tulum Resurfaced

11 February 2024

11 February 2024

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says the splendor of the seven Descending Gods of Tulum has resurfaced....

During the demolition work, a 2,500-year-old bull heads alto relievo was discovered in Sinop

20 April 2022

20 April 2022

During the demolition work of the buildings in front of the historical city walls for the City Square National Garden...

Staging of religion on rock paintings that are thousands of years old in southern Egypt desert

10 May 2023

10 May 2023

Egyptologists at the University of Bonn and the University of Aswan want to systematically record hundreds of petroglyphs and inscriptions...

A 2,000-year-old Roman sewage system has been discovered in western Turkey

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

The archaeological excavations carried out in the ancient city of Tripolis in the western province of Denizli’s Buldan district have...

Extraordinary discovery in France: An unlooted 1800-year-old Roman Sarcophagus discovered

27 September 2023

27 September 2023

Archaeologists from France’s National Institute of Preventive Archeology (INRAP) have unearthed an unlooted ancient stone sarcophagus in the vast ancient...

Archaeologists Uncover Extensive Ancient Irrigation Network in Eridu, the World’s First City

8 March 2025

8 March 2025

Recent research by a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and geologists has revealed that the Eridu region of southern Mesopotamia, inhabited...

Bidnija olive trees have seen medieval, not the Roman period

13 July 2021

13 July 2021

The olive trees in the Bidnija grove on the island of Malta are believed to be 2000 years old. But...

Temple of Zeus Lepsynos in Turkey regains its glory

9 May 2022

9 May 2022

The temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Euromos in southwestern Turkey regains its original splendor with the revitalization...

Was the mystery of Noceto Vasca Votiva the water ritual?

13 June 2021

13 June 2021

The Noceto Vasca Votiva is a one-of-a-kind wood building discovered in 2005 on a tiny hill in northern Italy. The...

Rare Gold Coin from Reign of Byzantine Emperor Justin II Unearthed at Tuida Fortress in Sliven, Bulgaria

25 June 2025

25 June 2025

A rare gold coin dating back to the reign of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justin II (r. 565–578 CE) has...

A 2,100-Year-Old Marble Statue of Mother Goddess Cybele Discovered in Ordu’s Ancient Kurul Castle

7 March 2025

7 March 2025

A breathtaking statue of the Mother Goddess Cybele, dating back 2100 years, was found at the historic Kurul Castle in...

Deadly Omens Revealed from 4,000-year-old Babylonian Tablets

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

Researchers successfully deciphered 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets discovered over a century ago in what is now Iraq.  The tablets, housed at...