Kamna 31
Frontal view
By kind permission of Ch. Robin and J. Schiettecatte
By kind permission of Ch. Robin and J. Schiettecatte
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Early Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Script cursus | Boustrophedon | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text - fragmentary |
TEXT
1 [... ... r](ṯ)dt ʾl—
2 mqh w-Nbʿl w-[... ...]
3 [... ... ](w)-S¹bʾ w-Yḏrḥm—
4 lk hqnyt-h[... ...]
| 1 | rṯdt: as the main verb of the dedicatory text should be hqnyt, it is possible that the beginning of the inscription is missing or that this is a variation of the dedicatory formula (cp. the Minaic text al-Jawf 04.48). The letter d and the letter t of the verb are separated by a frieze. |
| 4 | hqnyt-h[... ...]: the suffix pronoun indicates that the language is Sabaic. As the verb rṯdt suggests that the author is a woman, the pronoun is probably complete. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [... ... she has] assigned to 2 ʾlmqh and Nbʿl and [... ...] 3 [... ...] and Sabaʾ and Yḏrḥmlk 4 her dedication [... ...] |
| Arbach and Rossi 2015: 21 | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2015. Nouveaux documents sabéens provenant de Kamna du VIIIe–VIIe siècle avant J.-C.. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 26/1: 16-27. 2015/06/02; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12052/pdf. [DOI: 10.1111/aae.12052] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Offering table » With ibex frieze |
| Material | Stone |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Kamna |
| Ancient site | Kmnhw |
| Geographical area | Jawf - Wādī Madhab |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The name of Sabaʾ next to the name of Yḏrḥmlk, king of Kamna, the Sabaic language and the invocation of ʾlmqh and Nbʿl (god of Sabaʾ and god of Kamna respectively), supports the hypothesis of an alliance between Kamna and Sabaʾ at the end of the 8th century BC (cf. Kamna 30).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Arbach and Rossi 2015: 21-22, 20 (figs 3-4) | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2015. Nouveaux documents sabéens provenant de Kamna du VIIIe–VIIe siècle avant J.-C.. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 26/1: 16-27. 2015/06/02; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12052/pdf. [DOI: 10.1111/aae.12052] |