A Nestorian monastic settlement on the island of Ṣīr Banī Yās, Abu Dhabi: a preliminary report

Abstract

Sīr Banī Yās is an island in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, off the coast from Jabal Dhanna (Zanna) (fig. 1). Much of the landscape of the island has been entirely changed in recent years through earthmoving and landfill although the pre-modern terrain still exists in a few areas. There has also been widespread tree planting, and vast areas of Ṣīr Banī Yas are fenced to protect the plantations from gazelle, great herds of which roam free on the island. Nevertheless, limited areas with significant archaeological remains survived the plantation and the associated trenching.

On the eve of Islam: archaeological evidence from Eastern Arabia

“…In addition to the sites discussed above, Khatt (Kennet 1998), Suhar (Kervran & Hiebert 1991) and possibly Sir Bani Yas (Elders 2001;King 1997) have also yielded evidence for Sasanian and early Islamic occupation, although there are no comparable buildings from these sites (Figure 1). It has also been suggested that Jumairah in Dubai should be dated to the Sasanian period (Baramki 1975;Potts 1990: 298-300) but this is wrong: an inspection of the excavated pottery by the present author together with Dr H. Qandil has revealed that it dates to the ninth to eleventh centuries.…”

Monks, dinars and date palms: hagiographical production and the expansion of monastic institutions in the early Islamic Persian Gulf

“…The description of the cell corresponds precisely with the structures excavated outside the monasteries at Kharg and Sīr Banī Yās. Six ‘courtyard houses’ have so far emerged to the north of the Sīr Banī Yās monastery; these are substantial, finely plastered structures surrounded by a courtyard, some of which contain multiple rooms (King 1997: 229–233). Ghirshman suggested that similar structures at Kharg housed clerics, who administered the liturgies of the monastery, together with their families (1960: 14).…”

“…The church was richly decorated with stucco reliefs akin to those known from churches in Seleucia‐Ctesiphon, southern Mesopotamia, and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf (Hauser 2007; Cassis 2002). To the south, off the coast of the modern United Arab Emirates, King has published a report on the partial excavation of a monastery on the island of Sīr Banī Yās (King 1997; Elders 2001). Somewhat more modest than the coenobium at Kharg, the excavated north‐eastern quadrant of the structure has yielded eight cells, suggesting a total of approximately thirty–forty (King 1997: 224–225).…”

“…To the south, off the coast of the modern United Arab Emirates, King has published a report on the partial excavation of a monastery on the island of Sīr Banī Yās (King 1997; Elders 2001). Somewhat more modest than the coenobium at Kharg, the excavated north‐eastern quadrant of the structure has yielded eight cells, suggesting a total of approximately thirty–forty (King 1997: 224–225). Like the monastery of Kharg, Sīr Banī Yās was accompanied by satellite settlements unambiguously associated with the coenobium and a monastic church similarly adorned with stucco.…”

Christianity in the Gulf during the first centuries of Islam

“…There was one season of survey and surface collection (1992) followed by four seasons of excavation (1993–1996). A preliminary report was published in 1997 (King 1997a), giving a brief account of excavations up to 1995 at SBY‐9, SBY‐3, SBY‐7 and SBY‐2. In 2001 Elders published an account of the monastery and church at SBY‐9, setting it within the context of other archaeological finds in the Gulf (Elders 2001), with a similar publication following (2003).…”