Sheikh Majid bin Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla explained that the historical environment of Al Seniya Island includes a number of the most important archaeological and tourist sites in the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, which serves as a living record of the various religious and multicultural societies that have settled on the island over the past centuries.
He stressed that Al Seniya Island played a central role in the history of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain and the United Arab Emirates as a whole for nearly 2000 years, and “the discovery of Deir Al Seniya helped us understand our ancient history, a history rich in examples of religious tolerance and acceptance of human and cultural diversity, and the monastery is another evidence of the Existence of Christian denominations that lived side by side with the Islamic community in the coast of the Emirates in the past.
Commenting on this discovery, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth Noura Al Kaabi said: “This archaeological discovery bears great historical and heritage value for the UAE, whose government is making great efforts to protect and preserve local heritage and introduce it to future generations, a translation of an approach devoted by the late founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. May God rest his soul, and recommended that the historical and archaeological sites be taken care of and preserved, and this is what makes us continue our commitment to protecting our heritage and history, which we are proud and proud of.”
She confirmed that the ministry is working to provide full support to the Department of Tourism and Antiquities in the Umm Al Quwain government to implement the project, describing this discovery as a model of joint cooperation and teamwork that yields many achievements, noting that the partners in the project belong to local and international bodies and institutions. Successful tasks are required of everyone, each according to his specialization and experience, to achieve this achievement.
She praised the efforts of the research teams to complete the first phase of the project and wished them success in the next phase, and said: “We will continue to work on the sites in the next phase and we will provide all possible support to the research teams to complete the excavations of these valuable archaeological sites, and it is important to note that this project It is an excellent opportunity for students specializing in archeology to participate in discovering their history and getting to know it closely and in a practical way on the importance of archeology in our lives and its necessity in unveiling the ancient history of our country.”
For his part, Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Cultural Adviser to the President of the State, said: “Today, I was pleased to accompany Her Excellency Noura bint Muhammad Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, to attend the announcement of the discovery of new archaeological sites on the island of Al Seniya dating back to the sixth century AD, including a mosque, a monastery and the effects of successive settlements, in the presence of Sheikh Majid bin Saud Al Mualla, head of the Department of Tourism and Antiquities in Umm Al Quwain and the teams of archaeological expeditions, which includes a team from the United Arab Emirates University.
He added: “This discovery on the historic island is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the region, and as we congratulate the Department of Antiquities and Tourism on discovering this rich heritage that extends over vast areas of the island, we wish it more success and brilliance in exploring the island’s monuments in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Youth and state universities To preserve the cultural heritage of the people of the Emirates and to highlight it with due care and concern.
Research and archaeological excavations on Al-Siniya Island continued for two consecutive seasons by the local team at the Department of Tourism and Antiquities, with the participation of a number of institutions such as the United Arab Emirates University, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University and the Italian Mission, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Youth and the International Center for the Study of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). According to the Emirates News Agency
The historic Christian monastery on the island of Siniya consists of a group of community buildings, a church, a refectory and cisterns surrounded by isolated rooms for monks. The monastery was built from local beach rocks and the walls and floors were covered with lime plaster. Pottery and glass extracted from the site indicate that the inhabitants of the monastery had international trade links that extended from Iraq to India.
The radiocarbon dating of coal samples and the study of pottery extracted from the site indicate the prosperity of the monastery during the period from the late sixth century to the middle of the eighth century AD, which made the Christian monastic community on the island of Saniya witness to the emergence of Islam in the seventh century AD.
Deir Al Seniya is the second monastery that was found in the UAE after the discovery of the archaeological site of the Sir Bani Yas Church and Monastery in Abu Dhabi in the early 1990s. So far, six ancient monasteries have been found along the shores of the Arabian Gulf, five of which are located in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. .
Historical sources assert that many tribes in eastern Arabia were once Christian before the advent of Islam, and it now appears increasingly clear that a thriving, multi-religious Arab community emerged during the first Islamic Golden Age.
On the other hand, the department stated that it will continue archaeological excavations at the monastery site to highlight the features of the Christian community that lived in the area at that time.
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