Archaeologists have discovered the most ancient Christian building in Bahrain, the University of Exeter reported earlier this month. Professor Timothy Insoll jointly led the excavation project with Dr. Salman Almahari of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities between 2019 and 2023.

The building, which contains a kitchen, a dining room, a possible work room, and three living rooms, is one of the earliest Christian buildings in the Arabian Gulf. Radiocarbon dating suggests it was occupied between the mid-4th and mid-8th centuries.

Archaeologists believe the building was abandoned following the rise of Islam in the area. They determined it was occupied by Christians because there were three plaster crosses with graffiti scratched into them that included a Chi-Rho and a fish — early Christian symbols.

According to the report, the Church of the East, or the Nestorian Church, thrived in the area until a mass conversion to Islam took place in 610 A.D.

“This is the first physical evidence found of the Nestorian Church in Bahrain and gives a fascinating insight into how people lived, worked and worshiped,” Insoll told the University of Exeter. (For a fascinating, heartbreaking account of the once-vast, mostly vanished churches of the East, see Philip Jenkins’s The Lost History of Christianity.)

A museum is being built in the area to preserve the site. It is scheduled to open in 2025.

More Proof of the Bible’s Historical Accuracy

The Israeli Antiquities Authority recently announced that archaeologists have discovered evidence of a city where ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt.

The Old Testament mentions the city of Zanoah as one allotted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:34). Archaeologists found stone walls, pottery, and other artifacts there, some of which date back more than 3,200 years.

Some 20% of the findings in the location date back to the Iron Age. Among them is a broken jar handle that references a king in the Bible, possibly Hezekiah, a former king of Judah (2 Kings 18-20). 

Pottery impressions.

That particular Bible passage also mentions Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. He attacked and captured all the cities of Judah during the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority,

Eleven of the late impressions come from Tel Sokho, which was apparently the manufacturing site of the [jars] and therefore continued to exist after Sennacherib’s campaign.

The many artifacts found in the location indicate the significance of the site in Israel’s history, the Antiquities Authority said.

Eric Metaxas’s book Is Atheism Dead? offers many more examples of biblical stories long dismissed as fictional which archeological research is now proving to be true. 

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is a senior editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.