Barbar Temple, Archaeological temple in Barbar, Bahrain.

Barbar Temple is an archaeological complex made up of three structures stacked on top of one another, connected by terraces and featuring multiple altar spaces. The site contains several levels with rooms used for ceremonies, along with the remains of channels and water-related features that were central to its design.

The earliest temple structure was built around 3000 BCE during the Dilmun period, and the site was enlarged at least twice over the following centuries. Each layer reflects changes in construction methods and ritual practices, showing that this location remained important for religious worship for thousands of years.

The temples were built for Enki, god of wisdom and freshwater, and his wife Ninhursag. A natural spring fed a pool in the subterranean shrine, interpreted as a symbolic abzu, and water flowed through stone channels to surrounding fields. Offerings of clay goblets, in groups of seven, were buried in the foundations of Temple I.

The excavated area lies in the village of Barbar, near the coast north of Manama. Visitors walk among low stone walls, the five surviving steps and the square well of Temple I, so sturdy shoes help on the loose rubble. The site is on Bahrain's tentative UNESCO list; check opening arrangements locally before travelling out.

The three temples were built one on top of another: the second about 500 years after the first, the third between 2100 and 2000 BC. The Danish team of P. V. Glob, Hellmuth Andersen and Peder Mortensen dug here from 1954 to 1962, and work resumed in 2004.