| Notes on support and decorations | Fragmentary bronze altar of which two joining walls survive. The larger and front wall of the altar is decorated with three rows of twelve standing frontal sphinxes, placed between two elongated, lateral false windows. On the top, the inscription is placed inside a recessed panel surrounded by a thin plain framework. Between the inscribed upper panel and the sphinxes: two rows of rectangular dentils. The second fragment, belonging to the back wall of the altar, preserves only its upper part, whose surface alternates regular offsets and recesses. From the two large recesses two bull's head spouts are projecting. The raised letters were made by applying individual wax threads onto the panel before it was cast. This unique object is one of the largest and most important examples of ancient South Arabian metal working. |