Barbar Temple in Bahrain

Located in the Persian Gulf, the Kingdom of Bahrain, more popularly known as Bahrain, is a country without any border. This island country is the smallest among all Arab nations. Saudi Arabia to the west and Qatar to the south across the Persian Gulf are the two immediate neighbors of Bahrain. Like most Arabian states, Bahrain too is very dry with deserts covering almost 92 percent of the total geographical area. Due to the very dry climate, little rain and frequent dust storms; agriculturally Bahrain is not well developed. This country is however rich in petroleum and gas resources. One of the largest reservoirs of natural gas, Bahrain economy heavily depends on the export of oil. The history of this small country dates back to over 3000 years and is considered one among the 15 countries where human beings first made their appearances. Therefore Sightseeing in Bahrain includes visiting archaeological sites. One such archaeological site is the Barbar Temple in Bahrain.

Barbar temple in Bahrain is located in the Barbar village. Once upon a time there were actually three Barbar temples in Bahrain. A Danish archaeological team found the remains of the third Barbar temple in 1954. The other two temples were also found at the same place which made everyone infer that due to some reasons when one temple was demolished, another one was erected at the same place. The oldest among these three temples date back to around 3000 B.C. Radio Carbon Dating established that the second Barbar Temple in Bahrain was built around 2500 B.C. The third one, which the Danish team excavated, according to the archaeologists was built between 2100 B.C and 2000 B.C.

All the three temples were made of limestones. The people living at that time, according to the scientists, used to worship god Enki and his wife Nankhur Sak. The remains of these temples have uncovered two alters and a natural water spring. It is thought that these things carried religious meaning. One curious thing that baffled the excavators was that many tools, weapons, pottery and small pieces of gold were found in the ruins of the Barbar Temple in Bahrain.