27 March 2023 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.

Banner
Related Post

In the “Siberian Valley of the Kings”, archaeologists have discovered a burial mound containing ornate treasures dating back 2,500 years

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

A Polish-Russian team of archaeologists, excavating in the “Siberian Valley of the Kings” have announced the discovery of a burial...

Runic Alphabet Symbols in the Tombs Found in the Excavations in Istanbul

23 May 2021

23 May 2021

In the excavations carried out by the Istanbul Archeology Museums in the area where the metro station will be built...

Researchers reveal the 4,500-year-old network of funerary avenues in Arabian Peninsula

15 January 2022

15 January 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) have determined that people living in ancient northwest Arabia built long-distance “funerary...

Egypt’s Tanis bronze figurines shed light on ancient commerce

19 July 2021

19 July 2021

A research team told that the newly discovered 3,000-year-old bronze figurines recently unearthed in Tanis, Egypt, can answer questions about...

1000-year-old Cats and Babies mummies of Turkey’s

30 March 2022

30 March 2022

Cat, baby, and adult mummies in Aksaray, which took its place in history as Cappadocia’s gateway to the west on...

2500-year-old Aphrodite Temple Discovered

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2500-year-old temple built in the name of Goddess Aphrodite around Çeşme and Urla districts of Izmir...

Aramaic four inscriptions found for the first time in eastern Turkey

17 September 2022

17 September 2022

Four inscriptions written in Aramaic were discovered in the ancient city with a grid plan, located on an area of...

Millennia-Old İron Production Facilities Found in Iran

2 May 2021

2 May 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered many millennia-old iron manufacturing sites in a historical village in southcentral Iran. A local tourism official declared...

Archaeologists unearths Unique Tomb of 6th Century BC Egyptian Commander at the archaeological area of ​​Abu Sir

24 July 2022

24 July 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on July 15 that a team of Czech archaeologists, while excavating near the Giza...

Two more Giants discovered at Mont’e Prama in Sardinia, Italy

7 May 2022

7 May 2022

Two more Giants have emerged from the Mont’e Prama excavations in Sardinia: both of the new statues have been described...

2,700-year-old bronze figurine found in Germany’s Tollence River: goddess or weight?

9 April 2022

9 April 2022

A Bronze Age female figurine discovered in the Tollense River in northern Germany may have been a goddess, part of...

The Life of the Maya Ambassador Found in El Palmar was not Easy

18 March 2021

18 March 2021

El Palmar is a small plaza compound in Mexico near the borders of Belize and Guatemala. Archaeologists Kenichiro Tsukamoto and...

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

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...

New mosaics unearthed in “Zeugma of the Black Sea”

3 October 2022

3 October 2022

New mosaics with various figures were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, which is called...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *