YM 18352
Arbach and Audouin 2007: 84, cat. 53
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Early Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Script cursus | Boustrophedon | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 4 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 ʾlkrb bn Yhbr
2 qyn ʾlmqh w-S¹mʿ
3 ḏ-ʾlm w-S¹mhʿly hqny
4 ʾlmqh Ṣbḥhmw
5 ywm ṣdq b-nḫl-hw
6 w-mnḫy-hw b-ftḥ S¹—
7 bʾ w-S¹mhrym w-ms³—
8 wd ʿrrtm w-Ktl—
9 m w-mwy s¹rwy bn
10 ʿrrtm w-Ktlm b-
11 ʿly Hrbn w-S¹mhr—
12 ym mdrrm
| 1-3 | Some letters are engraved on the frame. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 ʾlkrb, son of Yhbr, 2 qyn of ʾlmqh and S¹mʿ 3 ḏ-ʾlm and S¹mhʿly, dedicated 4 to ʾlmqh Ṣbḥhmw, 5 when he claimed property rights on his palmgrove 6 and his supply-channel, by the decree of 7 Sabaʾ and S¹mhrym and the council 8 of ʿrrtm and Ktlm; 9 and (may) the waters of the two wādīs (flow) from 10 ʿrrtm and Ktlm 11 over Hrbn; and S¹mhrym 12 is the controller of the irrigation. |
| 9 | According to Bron, the line is governed by the verb in l.5 "ṣdq b-" ("he claimed property rights over"): "et (la propriété) des eaux qui se répandent depuis", as "s¹rwy pourrait être rapproché d'ar. sarā,«se répandre»" (Bron 2010 b: 44). |
| Bron 2010 b: 44 | Bron, François 2010. Quelques nouvelles inscriptions du Jawf. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 21: 41-45. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, The National Museum, YM 18352 |
| Support type | Artefact » Stela » Stela with framework |
| Material | Alabaster |
| Measures | h. 103, w. 58, th. 13 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Kharibat Saʿūd |
| Ancient site | Ktlm |
| Geographical area | wādī Raghwān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh |
| Notes | The editors maintains Jidfir ibn Munaykhir as the site of provenance, because the stela is part of a group of pieces acquired by the GOAM as coming from illegal excavation in the site. However, we accept Schiettecatte's suggestion that some of these stelae most probably come from the nearby sites of Kharibat Saʿūd and al-Asāḥil (see Schiettecatte 2011: 49, n.25 for the argumentation). In this text, both towns are mentioned. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This text is significant because it attests a decree on the exploitment of the waters of the two Sabaean towns of Ktlm and ʿrrtm in the Jawf, issued by the tribe of Sabaʾ and its representative (the prince S¹mhrym) plus the the council of the two towns. S¹mhrym, who was probably governor of the towns, was also the "controller of the irrigation".
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Arbach and Audouin 2007: 84-85, cat. 53 | Arbach, Mounir and Audouin, Rémy 2007. Collection of Epigraphic and Archaeological Artifacts from al-Jawf Sites. Ṣanʿâʾ National Museum. 2. Ṣanʿāʾ: UNESCO-SFD / Ṣanʿāʾ: National Museum. [Text in English and Arabic] |
| Bron 2010 b: 44 | Bron, François 2010. Quelques nouvelles inscriptions du Jawf. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 21: 41-45. |