THE GREEK PAST OF BAHRAIN

 A Pottery jar which  contains 310 imitation silver tetradrachms was excavated in 1970 close to the North rampart of the fort, in the Qal'at Al-Bahrain Site Museum, near Manama in Bahrain. The hoard dates from the Tylos Period of the region. The coins were minted in the 2nd century BCE and are imitations of the official coinage of Alexander the Great used in the Seleucid Empire, with Alexander as Heracles on one side and, unusually, Shamash, an Eastern Arabian divinity, on the other. The Qal'at Al-Bahrain Site Museum  was opened in 2008, displaying artefacts of the history and archaeology of the Qal'at al-Bahrain, or Bahrain Fort or Portuguese Fort, built 6th century CE, once the capital of the Dilmun Civilisation. Qal'at al-Bahrain is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.