Church and monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island, UAE: Christianity in the late antique Persian Gulf - Dr Maria Gajewska (Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi & Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU)

The 7th-8th century church and monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island (Abu Dhabi) comprise the first Christian site ever discovered in the UAE, and one of only two found to date. The site includes a church surrounded by a walled compound and a series of domestic spaces, interpreted as monastic dormitories. To the north and north-west, at least six free-standing courtyard houses have been identified, built in the same style and with the same techniques as the church and dormitories, and yielding similar material culture assemblages. These have been interpreted as part of a dispersed monastic settlement, of a type which has both been described in written sources and identified at other archaeological sites in the Gulf (al-Qusur, Siniya). This settlement most likely belonged to the Church of the East ecclesiastical province of Bet Qatraye. While geographically on the peripheries of the Church, it was intellectually dynamic, with several prominent authors originating in the region. Their ideas could travel far – a Sogdian translation of a work by Dadishoʿ Qaṭrayā has been found at a monastery in Xinjiang.

Excavations have proceeded at the church and monastery intermittently since 1992 and are still ongoing, with the most recent project focusing on two external monastic cells. At the same time, archival documentation from past excavations is being prepared for publication as a monograph – this is the first time excavation results have been synthesised. This paper presents an overview of the site, followed by results of the most recent excavations in winter 2025, with a particular focus on a cross plaque found in one of the cells. This exceptionally well-preserved object is rich with symbolism, with parallels from other sites in the Gulf and Mesopotamia, and further beyond from the Caucasus to India to Central Asia and China.