CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

Editor: Jérémie Schiettecatte


SITE INFORMATION

Ancient nameS¹ḫym
CountryYemen
Geographical areaRayda
GovernorateʿAmrān
KingdomSabaʾ
CoordinatesLatitude: 16° 00' 00"    Longitude: 44° 00' 30"    
Coordinates accuracyapproximate
Type of siteModern site with reemployed inscriptions or artefacts
Tribeḏ-S¹ḫym [faction of rbʿn ḏ-Rydt < faction of Bklm]
Deitiesʿṯtr
ʾlmqh
ḏt-Himyam
ḏt-Bʿdn
StructuresDwelling (indeterminate)
Dwelling isolated
Light hydraulic structure (ex. canal, well)
Terrace cultivation
Rock inscriptions
LanguageSabaic
Location and toponomyAl-Hajarî is a hamlet located approximately 77 km north of Sanʿâʾ, 20 km north of Rayda and about 3 km east-north-east of al-Maḥâfiẓ.
The inscription Robin-al-Hajarî 1 mentions a name of a tribe, ḏ-S¹ḫym; the presence of ḏ- suggests that it derives from a toponym, maybe the ancient name of al-Hajarî. The toponym S¹ḫym may be identified with the castle Sḫy mentioned by al-Hamdânî (al-Iklîl, VIII).
History of research1975: visit by Ch. Robin on behalf of the French archaeological mission in Yemen (MAFY), copy of an inscription.
General descriptionCh. Robin (1982, II: 20) mentions collapsed buildings which used numerous square stone blocks. No evidence show that these are the remains of pre-Islamic structures.
A South Arabian inscription, Robin-al-Hajarî 1, has been reemployed in one of the walls of the mosque. It mentions the building of two houses, one bearing the name of Yfʿ, and the excavation of two wells.
ChronologyThe inscription Robin-al-Hajarî 1 is dated to the 1st century BC/AD, according to the palaeography.

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RELATED MATERIAL

Epigraphs
Objects

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robin and Brunner 1997Robin, Christian J. and Brunner, Ueli 1997. Map of Ancient Yemen/Carte du Yémen antique. 1:1.000.000. Munich: Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde.
Robin 1976 a: 185Robin, Christian J. 1976. Résultats épigraphiques et archéologiques de deux brefs séjours en République Arabe du Yémen. Semitica, 26: 167-188.
Robin 1982 a: vol. 1: 23, 72, 115-119; vol. 2: 19-23Robin, Christian J. 1982. Les hautes-terres du Nord-Yémen avant l'Islam. (2 vols), (Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, 50). Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch-Archaelogisch Instituut te Istanbul.