Gemstone Workshop Discovered at Medieval Island Site

NITRA, SLOVAKIA—The Slovak Spectator reports that a Nestorian Christian community dating to the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. is being mapped and investigated on Failaka Island, which is located in the Persian Gulf. Karol Pieta of the Archaeological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences said the people who lived in the settlement of more than 140 buildings kept cattle, grew grain, and processed semiprecious stones. “The extensive collection of raw materials has been preserved in the complex, semiprecious stones, mostly amethysts, which probably originate from Sri Lanka and are evidence of long-distance trade,” Pieta said, adding that the amethysts were carved into bead shapes that were fashionable and in demand in Europe. Ceramics and decorated glass jars were also uncovered at the site. To read in-depth about investigations on Failaka, go to “Archaeology Island.”