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Unearthing an ancient treasure trove [ United Arab Emirates, Nestorians ]
The National, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ^ | November 24. 2008 | Tahira Yaqoob

Posted on 11/24/2008 4:04:25 PM PST by SunkenCiv

To the untrained eye they may look like rubble. But the ruins of a monastery and church discovered in Abu Dhabi tell a fascinating tale about a little-known period in the region's history. When the foundations were built, the Roman empire had just come to an end, Christianity was sweeping the world and Islam had not yet been born... The monastery and church, survivors of a Nestorian Christian period, are just two of 36 archaeological troves on the island. Others include the remains of villas with stucco decorations, pottery and basic furnishings, providing a glimpse into life in pre-Islam times. "This particular time period is very interesting as we have a real overlap of documentation and archaeology which throws up some fascinating contradictions," said Mark Beech, an archaeologist from the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach). Christianity persisted in the Gulf until at least the late 9th century, he said. "In 1991 we first discovered ruins from that period on Sir Bani Yas... The church and monastery are thought to date to the 7th century but could even have roots as far back as the 4th century. Pottery relating to the 8th century has been subjected to extensive scientific tests and shed light on the diet of residents from the period. Archaeologists discovered the bones of fish such as sharks, rays and hammour in the bottom of pots as well as date juice and remains of sheep and goats. Only the bones of dugongs, now an endangered species, show a marked contrast to the present-day diet in the region.

(Excerpt) Read more at thenational.ae ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: abudhabi; godsgravesglyphs; nestorians; uae; unitedarabemirates
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CIA - The World Factbook -- United Arab Emirates

1 posted on 11/24/2008 4:04:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

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2 posted on 11/24/2008 4:04:54 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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To: SunkenCiv

All of the Middle East was largely Christian, before being converted to Islam.


3 posted on 11/24/2008 4:08:04 PM PST by MyTwoCopperCoins
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To: SunkenCiv

These are different Nestorians. This group has been thought to be the lost tribes that converted to Christianity on their own and stayed where they happened to be at the time.


4 posted on 11/24/2008 4:08:37 PM PST by RightWhale (Exxon Suxx)
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To: SunkenCiv
And then all Christians were driven out or forced to convert by the death cult.

Interesting - what was once Christian lands should revert back to Chrisitan lands

5 posted on 11/24/2008 4:08:48 PM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: MyTwoCopperCoins

Converted? How about forced?


6 posted on 11/24/2008 4:20:32 PM PST by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Never mind. I thought the title was about Obama appointing Clinton re-treads. :)

“Unearthing an ancient treasure trove”


7 posted on 11/24/2008 4:27:40 PM PST by KeyLargo
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To: SunkenCiv

Toghrul Quan, and many of the Kerait people were Nestorians. So were Mongke, Qublai and Hulegu Quans’ mother, Sorghatani Beki, and Hulegu’s wife. The Nestorians made sizable inroads into western Asia, and may have spawned the ‘Prester John’ legend.


8 posted on 11/24/2008 4:42:04 PM PST by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: MyTwoCopperCoins

I wonder if that made the conversion to Islam easier, as compared to pagan to Muslim.


9 posted on 11/24/2008 5:04:35 PM PST by tbw2 (Freeper sci-fi - "Sirat: Through the Fires of Hell" - on amazon.com)
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To: Red_Devil 232

How much influence do you think this group had on that era’s Ethiopian Christians? Thus there would be a continuing cultural link.


10 posted on 11/24/2008 5:11:46 PM PST by tbw2 (Freeper sci-fi - "Sirat: Through the Fires of Hell" - on amazon.com)
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To: SunkenCiv

Ping for later


11 posted on 11/24/2008 5:36:41 PM PST by eleni121 (EN TOUTO NIKA!! +)
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To: SunkenCiv
“dugongs?”

Please tell me they didn't eat dugongs. Who did they think they were, Koreans.

12 posted on 11/25/2008 4:22:34 AM PST by wolfcreek (I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
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To: wolfcreek

They sure are ugly dugong things.


13 posted on 11/25/2008 2:14:31 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Yes they are. If you’ve ever been in the water with a Manatee, they’re also quite large.


14 posted on 11/25/2008 2:26:47 PM PST by wolfcreek (I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
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To: PzLdr
Thanks!
Kaifeng
Jesus Sutras

15 posted on 11/25/2008 2:29:39 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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Christians in China: A.D. 600 to 2000 Christians in China: A.D. 600 to 2000
by Father Jean Charbonnier,
contributions by David Notley,
tr. by M. N. L. Couve de Murville

16 posted on 11/25/2008 2:39:38 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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To: SunkenCiv

There is more under the water.


17 posted on 11/25/2008 2:41:14 PM PST by fanfan
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To: wolfcreek; fanfan

Lot o’ eatin’ in one of those, I’m sure.


18 posted on 11/25/2008 2:49:52 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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To: SunkenCiv

LOL!

Not more Manatee!

More History!


19 posted on 11/25/2008 2:54:36 PM PST by fanfan
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To: fanfan
Oh, the huge manatee!

20 posted on 11/25/2008 3:04:02 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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