Remains of Early Christian community uncovered in Bahrain.

Traces of an Early Christian community have been discovered by archaeologists in the village of Samahij on the north coast of Muharraq Island, Bahrain, according to a press release issued by the University of Exeter. The remains comprise a large building with eight rooms beneath the remains of a later mosque, with the site yielding radiocarbon dates from the mid fourth century to the mid eighth century AD. At this time Christian communities belonging to the Nestorian Church, or Church of the East, are known from historical records to have been found around the Persian Gulf, although very few archaeological remains associated with these communities have been found to date, making the discovery of the site significant.

The approximate location of the Samahij archaeological site. Google Maps. 

The excavations were carried out by a team of British and Bahraini archaeologists led by Timothy Insoll of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter and Salman Almahari of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, between 2019 and 2023, and a museum showcasing the discoveries is planned to open in 2025.

The building uncovered had stone walls with plastered internal walls. It was possible to identify the places where doors and fixed benches had been attached by sockets and holes in the walls and floor. One room had clearly been used as a kitchen with several hearths made from the bases of amphorae or other large storage vessels.

The Samahij archaeological site. University of Exeter.

Food remains from the site are still being analysed, but suggest the people here enjoyed a diet including pork, fish, shellfish, and several plant crops. Other finds include beads made from carnelian, a semi-precious stone likely to have originated in India, as well as ceramics which are clearly of Indian origin, indicating the community were part of a trade network that reached the sub-continent. Other items include spindle whorls, copper needles, and glassware, including wine glasses, copper coins thought to come from the Sasanian Empire, which had its centre in modern Iran and incorporated much of the Persian Gulf area.

The site has been identified as Christian on the basis of three plaster crosses and gratfiti scratched in the plaster walls, which includes the Early Christian Chi-Rho and Fish symbols. During the late pre-Islamic period the site would have formed part of the Nestorian Diocese of Meshmahig or Mašmahig (which may be related linguistically to Samahij). 

The Church of the East effectively split from the 'Church of the West' (i.e. the Roman church) in 410 AD, becoming the official Christian church of the Sasanian Empire, which at this time was at war with the Roman Empire in the west. This de facto separation was made official in 424, with the name 'Nestorian Church' becoming prevalent after 431, when the theologian Nestorius, who was Arch-Bishop of Constantinople, was condemned for heresy by the Council of Ephesus, for claiming that Mary should be described as the Mother of Christ but not the Mother of God, and sought refuge in the Sassanian Empire, becoming an important theological thinker and eventually a saint of the Church of the East. 

These changes do not appear to have been universally accepted throughout the area claimed by the Church of the East, with a Bishop of Meshmahig being excommunicated in 410 AD, and another being condemned for challenging the unity of the church in the seventh century. Christianity ceased to be a major political power around the Persian Gulf  with the rise of Islam in the seventh century, but the Church of the East still survives today as the Assyrian Church of the East, which is based in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, and has over 400 000 followers, mostly living in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, and India, the Ancient Church of the East, which is based in Bagdad, and has about 75 000 followers, mostly in Iraq and India, the Chaldean Catholic Church, which is also based in Bagdad and has over 490 000 followers, mostly in Iraq, but with substantial communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and the Syro-Malabar Church, based in Kerala State, India, with about 4..53 million followers, mostly in Kerala and Sri Lanka. 

Early Christian archaeological sites are also known from other areas around the Persian Gulf, including Iran, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and eastern Saudi Arabia, although none of these are in locations still inhabited today, and most are younger than the Samahij site, further emphasising the importance of this locality.

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Saboteurs target oil pipeline in Bahrain.

A section of the A-B oil pipeline in Bahrain has been blown up by saboteurs. The incident happened on Friday 10 November 2017, close to the village of Buri, about 15 km to the south of Manama. Supplies of oil though the pipeline have been shut off while the fire is extinguished and repairs carried out, and people living close to the explosion have been evacuated for their own safety. The Bahrain government has blamed the blast on Shi'ite militants 'taking orders' from Iran, though the Iranian government has denied this.

Fire following an explosion that blew up part of an oil pipeline near Buri in Bahrain on 10 November 2017. Hamad Mohammed/Reuters.

The A-B pipeline carries about 230 000 barrels (36 600 000 litres) of Arabian Llight crude oil per day, from the Abu Safa Oilfield, which is shared between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, to the Bahrain Petroleum Company's refinery at Awali in the centre of the country.

The approximate location of the 10 November 2017 Buri pipeline explosion. Google Maps.

Bahrain has a majority Shi'ite population, but has been ruled by the Suni Al Khalifa family since independence from Iran in 1971. The country has parliamentary elections, but the government is appointed by the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and little political opposition is tolerated. This has led to an unstable situation with occasional uprisings and frequent acts of sabotage, all of which tend to be blamed on Iran, a country which provides at least moral support for opposition groups.

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Flooding in Saudi Arabia and Qatar leads to one death and widespread disruption.

One person has died following a series of flash floods which hit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain on Wednesday 25 November 2015. The fatality is reported to have occurred in Rimah Province in Saudi Arabia, though details of this event are unclear. Many areas of both countries are suffering from disrupted transport networks, with many roads flooded and often blocked by abandoned cars. Schools and other public services have been forced to close in many areas due to the flooding, as has the US Embassy in Doha, Qatar. Many new development projects associated with the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar have been particularly badly hit, including the new Hamad International Airport in Doha, leading the Qatari government to announce an inquiry into lax building standards in the country.

Flooding on a road underpass in Ridyah, Saudi Arabia. The Guardian.

Qatar has been widely reported as having received more than an average years rainfall within 24 hours, about 80 mm compared to 75 mm, though this is slightly misleading as Qatar does not receive any rain some years, lowering the average rainfall, and what does fall often arrives in the form of sudden extreme downpours. Flash floods are a common problem in Arabia (and other areas with a dry climate) as protracted periods of dry weather can cause topsoil to dry out completely, making it vulnerable to being blown away by the wind. When rain does arrive it then falls on exposed bedrock, which is much less absorbent, triggering flash flooding as the water escapes over the surface of the ground rather than sinking into it. These floods wash away more topsoil, making the problem progressively worse over time.

 Flooding at East Riffa in Bahrain. Gulf Daily News.

Flooding events in Arabia are most common in November and December, though this years weather has been unusually severe. This is the third bout of flooding to hit Arabia in November 2015, with an initial bout of floods associated with Cyclone Chapala at the beginning of the month that has been blamed for fatalities from Yemen to Iran, then a second bout of flooding in Saudi Arabia from the 15th onwards that is thought to have claimed the lives of at least 12 people.

Flooding in Baghdad, Iraq, on 31 October 2015. Ahmed Saad/Reuters.

This extreme weather is thought to be connected with this year's El Niño weather system, which has warmed the Arabian Sea by around 2 degrees centigrade. This warming leads to higher rates of seawater evaporation, i.e. more water entering the atmosphere over the ocean, which in turn leads to more rainfall on land.

Movements of air masses and changes in precipitation in an El Niño weather system. Fiona Martin/NOAA.

The El Niño is the warm phase of a long-term climatic oscillation affecting the southern Pacific, which can influence the climate around the world. The onset of El Niño conditions is marked by a sharp rise in temperature and pressure over the southern Indian Ocean, which then moves eastward over the southern Pacific. This pulls rainfall with it, leading to higher rainfall over the Pacific and lower rainfall over South Asia. This reduced rainfall during the already hot and dry summer leads to soaring temperatures in southern Asia, followed by a rise in rainfall that often causes flooding in the Americas and sometimes Africa. Worryingly climatic predictions for the next century suggest that global warming could lead to more frequent and severe El Niño conditions, extreme weather conditions a common occurrence.

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