Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Christian monastery on Al Sinniyah Island in Umm Al Quwain.

Announcing the major find on Thursday, the emirate’s tourism and archaeology department said the complex included a church, refectory (dining hall), cisterns and cells for the monks where they spent time in solitude.

Radiocarbon dating and assessment of pottery excavated at the site suggests the community flourished there between the late 6th to mid-8th century AD.

It is the second monastery found in the UAE after the discovery of one on Abu Dhabi’s Sir Bani Yas Island in the early 1990s.

Six ancient monasteries have so far been found along the shores of the Arabian Gulf, five of which are from the GCC states.

"It is an extremely rare discovery," said Prof Tim Power of UAE University, who was part of the team that unearthed the monastery. "It is an important reminder of a lost chapter of Arab history."

Al Sinniyah is located between the UAQ peninsula and the Gulf coast and it protects the mangrove-fringed Khor Al Beida lagoon.

All around its shores is evidence of human occupation that spans thousands of years.

The find was made under the Sinniyah Archaeology Project, which is a collaboration between the UAQ department of tourism and archaeology; the

Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University in New York; and the Italian Archaeological Mission in Umm Al Quwain.

It is further supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth.