Archaeologists in the United Arab Emirates have uncovered a rare Christian cross molded on a plaster plaque at a monastery site on Sir Bani Yas Island, officials announced in August, marking the first major excavation there in three decades.
The Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi said the plaque was recovered from a complex that included a church and a retreat used by senior monks. The artifact, which had shattered over time and was reconstructed by archaeologists, is believed to have been used by monks for spiritual contemplation and is stylistically similar to finds from Iraq and Kuwait, linking it to the Church of the East.
Department officials dated the monastery to between the seventh and eighth centuries and said the site was peacefully abandoned before 800 A.D. The discovery underscores the presence of Christian communities in the Arabian Peninsula from as early as the third to fifth centuries, and their continued coexistence with Muslim populations after the Arab conquests.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chair of the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi, described the find as “a powerful testament to the UAE’s profound and enduring values of coexistence and cultural openness,” saying it highlights a long history of peaceful religious practice in the region. The department said the Sir Bani Yas church and monastery site is open to the public and offers visitors an opportunity to connect with early Christian history in the Gulf.
The excavation team said the monastery formed part of a larger complex that included a church and spaces where monks carried out periods of ascetic retreat and contemplation. Additional artifacts previously recovered from the site are on display in a small exhibition and include glass chalices, a cross-shaped stucco piece and a stamp seal bearing a scorpion motif. A modern multi-faith church inspired by the ancient complex has been built adjacent to the island’s visitor center.
Sir Bani Yas Island, located in the Persian Gulf, is better known to many as a destination for luxury resorts and wildlife reserves. The island remains accessible to visitors by water taxi or private plane, and officials have emphasized both its touristic amenities and its archaeological importance as they open the site to visitors.
Archaeologists said the style of the recovered cross shows links to material culture associated with the Church of the East, a Christian tradition with historical origins in what is now Iraq. The find contributes to a growing body of evidence about the spread and diversity of early Christian communities across the Arabian Peninsula and their interactions with neighboring regions.
Regional archaeological work has continued to turn up early Christian sites in recent months. In July, Egyptian authorities announced the discovery of two churches dating back more than 1,500 years, including a site that contains a mural depicting Jesus. The Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi said the Sir Bani Yas find adds to the broader understanding of religious and cultural interchange in the region during late antiquity and the early medieval period.
Officials said the current work on Sir Bani Yas is part of renewed efforts to document and conserve the island’s archaeological heritage after a multi-decade pause in excavation, and that further study and conservation of the monastery complex and its finds will continue.