Hamilton 2 A+B + Shabwa S/75/128
Pirenne 1990: 56-58, fig. 20, pls. XLVIIa-b
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INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Ḥaḍramitic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 8 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
GENERAL NOTES
| Breton dates the text to the 2nd c. AD, but the presence of s³ instead of ṯ suggests a more ancient date (see Prioletta 2006). |
TEXT
1 (Yd)ʿʾl B(y)n bn (Ydʿʾb) [mlk Ḥḍrmt ... ...]± |(g)nʾ S²bwt s²ls³t m(ḥ)±[f]d w-ʾrbʿ (ṣ)[ḥf... ... w-]
2 (b )(ḏt Ḥs³)wl[m] w-b [ḏt Ḥm](y)±[m ... ...] (Ṣd)qḏkr((Ṣdqḏkr)) kbr Ḥḍrmt ± [w-b] (Ḥ)ḍr(mt) w-(b)[ ... ...]
| 1 | Between the first and the second fragment, Pirenne integrates m[lk Ḥḍrmt ʿḏb w-rfd]; Beeston suggests bnʾ w-rfd. The integration of m(ḥ)[f](d) (between the second and the third fragment) and (ṣ)[ḥf] (at the end of the third one) are suggested by Bron. |
| 2 | Ṣdqḏkr could refer to the same lineage name mentioned in Shabwa VI/76/81, which also comes from the Shabwa city walls. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ydʿʾl Byn son of Ydʿʾb, king of Ḥaḍramawt [... ...] the city wall of Shabwa with three towers and four curtains [... ...] 2 by ḏt Ḥs³wlm and by ḏt Ḥmym [... ...] Ṣdqḏkr, kbr of Ḥaḍramawt, by Ḥaḍramawt and by [... ...] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Inscription on architectural structure |
| Material | Stone |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Shabwa |
| Ancient site | S²bwt |
| Geographical area | Shabwa |
| Country | Yemen |
| Notes | The first fragment is reemployed; the second (now lost) and the third ones are in the wādī bed. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This is one of the rare Ḥaḍramitic construction inscriptions displayed on the façades of monumental buildings that was commissioned by a king (see Prioletta 2013). It also mentions a kbr of the kingdom.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Beeston 1947: 53-55, pl. I | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1947. Two Shabwa Inscriptions. Le Muséon, 60: 51-55. |
| Pirenne 1990: 56-58, fig. 20, pl. XLVII/a-b | Pirenne, Jacqueline 1990. Les témoins écrit de la région de Shabwa et l'histoire. Jean-François Breton (ed.), Fouilles de Shabwa. 1. (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique, 134). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. [Institut français d'Archéologie du Proche-Orient] |
| Bron 1991 a: 460 | Bron, François 1991. Notes sur les inscriptions de Shabwa. Syria, 68: 459-462. |
| Prioletta 2006: 259, fig. 3 | Prioletta, Alessia 2006. Note di epigrafia Hadramawtica 1. L'alternanza di ṯ e s³. Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 29: 249-267. |
| Breton 2009 b: 9 | Breton, Jean-François 2009. De Shabwa à Palmyre: questions d'urbanisme. Pages 3-30 in Jean-François Breton (ed.). Shabwa et son contexte architectural et artistique du Ier siècle avant J.-C. au IVe siècle après J.-C.. Jean-François Breton (ed.), Fouilles de Shabwa. 4. Ṣanʿāʾ: Centre français d'archéologie et de sciences sociales de Ṣanʿāʾ / Beirut: Institut français d'archéologie du Proche-Orient. |
| Prioletta 2013 b: 98, fn. 35 | Prioletta, Alessia 2013. Remarks on some processes of assimilation and innovation in the language and culture of Ḥaḍramawt during its ancient history. Aula Orientalis, 31/1: 93-108. |