CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


Robin 2000: 185, fig. 1

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Early Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Script cursusBoustrophedon
Measure of letters4.5
Chronology
PeriodA

GENERAL NOTES

Yashhal 20 A and B are inscribed on the two faces of the same slab. According to Robin, the text A is graphically earlier than the text B.

TEXT


   1  [... ... ](S¹)mʿy ḏ-M(ḏn)[ḥn ... ...]
   2  [... ...]wn w-hns²ʾ [... ...]
   3  [... ... ](B)nty ʾ(l)[ ... ...]
   4  [... ...] Mḏ[nḥn ... ...]

Apparatus
1The integration was proposed by Robin and it is accepted by Arbach.
2Robin notes that hns²ʾ is attested here for the first time.
3According to the editor, bnty may be interpreted as a dual. However, as the other occurrences of the theonym are always plural, he does not exclude that this is an Early Sabaic writing of the construct plural.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Slab
MaterialAlabaster
Measuresh. 17, w. 14, th. 4
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteHajar Kuḥlān
Ancient siteTmnʿ
Geographical areaWādī Bayḥān
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʾṯrt
NotesThe fragment was found on surface during the excavation of the temple.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This Early Sabaic text was found in Timnaʿ. The editor suggests different possible explanations: that the inscription goes back to a period of Sabaean domination over the town, that there existed a place for the Sabaeans to leave inscriptions, or that the slab was brought to Timnaʿ but originated elsewhere.
In the most ancient documentation in Qatabanic several linguistic contacts with Sabaic are attested. The inscription could be a Qatabanic inscription. As we have already mentioned the line 1 is integrated.
In Qatabanic the divinities Bnty ʾl are attested, in Sabaic only Bnt ʾl is attested. This could be another reason to consider the inscription Qatabanic.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robin 2000: 162-164, 185, fig. 1Robin, Christian J. 2000. Les "filles du Dieu" de Sabaʾ à la Mecque: réflexions sur l'agencement des panthéons dans l'Arabie ancienne. Semitica, 50: 113-192.
Arbach 2016: 267-268, fig.Arbach, Mounir 2016. Annexe : les inscriptions du temple d'Athirat (II. Il tempio di Athirat : rapporto finale degli scavi 1999-2000). Pages 259-287 in Alessandro de Maigret and Christian J. Robin (eds). Gli scavi Italo-Francesi di Tamnaʿ (Repubblica dello Yemen). Rapporto finale. (Orient & Méditerranée, 20). Paris: De Boccard.