Barbar Temple
Barbar Temple
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 Shown within Bahrain
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| Location | Barbar, Bahrain |
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| Coordinates | 26°13′34.46″N 50°29′2.51″E / 26.2262389°N 50.4840306°ECoordinates: 26°13′34.46″N 50°29′2.51″E / 26.2262389°N 50.4840306°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
The Barbar Temple is an archaeological site located in the village of Barbar, Bahrain, and considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The most recent of the three Barbar temples was rediscovered by a Danish archaeological team in 1954. A further two temples were discovered on the site with the oldest dating back to 3000 BC. The temples were built of limestone blocks, believed to have been carved out from Jidda Island.
The three temples were built atop one another with the second built approximately 500 years later and the third added between 2100 BC and 2000 BC.
It is thought that the temples were constructed to worship the god Enki, the god of wisdom and freshwater, and his wife Nankhur Sak (Ninhursag). The temple contains two altars and a natural water spring that is thought to have held spiritual significance for the worshipers. During the excavation of the site many tools, weapons, pottery and small pieces of gold were found which are now on display in the Bahrain National Museum. The most famous find was a bronze bull's head
The site is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage
The site was discovered by P.V. Glob in 1954. Excavations, by a Danish team led by Hellmuth Andersen and Peder Mortensen, began that year and extended until 1962. Work at the site resumed in 2004.
Temple I, the earliest temple was built on a rectangular platform approximately 25m long and 16 to 18m wide. This was originally constructed on a bed of clean sand, which appears to have been consolidated by a layer of blue clay. The temple was covered by a second layer of clean sand.
At the foundation of Temple I offerings were deposited in the clay core of the temple terrace and they consisted of dozens of clay goblets found in separate groups each containing seven beakers which were broken and buried within the foundations of the terrace. Also copper objects were deposited in small heaps or singly. In the south-western corner of this early temple, steps led down to a square-built well. The central terrace was preserved in its full height, 2 metres, with the remains of trapezoid shrine in the center and adjoining rooms. This first one was built from local Bahraini stone. The cult features the subterranean shrine, the temple well and the oval sacrificial court.
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Wikipedia