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RES 3911 Ry 5
By kind permission of British Museum
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 4 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text |
GENERAL NOTES
| There are legal inscriptions for irrigation works in ASA texts that emphasise the boundaries of the property, as well as construction inscriptions such as this one that focus the completion of the masonry work. The infinitives in the derived forms do not present the suffix –n (e.g., hwṯr). |
TEXT
1 [... ...] |bnw Ḍrs²bm ḏ-Dhnn ʾdm bn Ṣdqʾl ʿs¹ʾw w-bny w-hwṯr w-s²qr
2 [... ...]s¹ʾ w-mqḥ mʾḫḏ-hmw Ḏbyn w-ḥrty b-rfdy-hw ʿbr-n Qtbn
3 [... ...]l-hmw Qyḍn (w)-(ḏ)-(Ḏrʾn) (w)-(ḥrw)r-hmy ḏ-ys¹mynn ʿbrnhn w-S³bn—
4 [... ... ]m w-Qṭbn w-ʾnḫl ḏ-Dhnn ʾly-(m) ḏhbn ʾbyn ḏ-Rymm b-ms¹qy—
5 [t ... ... b-ʿṯ]tr w-Hwbs¹ w-b ʾlmqh w-b ḏt-Ḥmym w-b ḏt-Bʿdnm
| 2 | the integration of mʿ]s¹ʾby RES at the beginning of the line is plausible. |
| 3 | At the beginning of the line the integration nḫ]l-hmw is also possible, but not at all certain. The previous editors read b-Ḏrʾn, but the stone is damaged and this reading is uncertain. If we are dealing with the names of two palm groves here, it seems more likely to read: ḏ-Ḏrʾn. b-ḥrwr-hmw (RES), w-ḥrwr-hmw (Jamme). At the end of the line: w-S¹bn (RES). |
| 4 | ʾly b-ḏhbn (Jamme). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [... ...] of the family Ḍrs²bm of Dhnn, subjects of the family of Ṣdqʾl dug out, built, laid foundations, completed 2 [... ...] and the completion of their reservoir Ḏbyn and the two canals in its two buttresses towards Qatabān 3 [... ...] Qyḍn and of Ḏrʾn in their canals which are named ʿbrhn and S³bn- 4 [... ...] and Qṭbn and the palm groves of Dhnn those of the oasis ʾbyn ḏ-Rymn in the irrigated land 5 [... ...] By ʿṯtr and Hwbs¹ and by ʾlmqh and by ḏt Ḥmym and by ḏt Bʿdnm. |
| 2 | the expression ʿbrn Qtbn is found in the legal text CIH 611. |
| 4 | in this instance, the –m suffix in ʾly-m seems to emphasise that the palm groves of the family mentioned are specifically those of the ʾbyn oasis. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | London, The British Museum, BM 103020 (=1909,0612.1) |
| Support type | Stone piece |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 24.5, w. 78.5, th. 5 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maʾrib |
| Ancient site | Mryb / Mrb |
| Geographical area | Maʾrib |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Agricultural irrigation context: Dam or retaining structure Ḏbyn |
| Link to site record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Ryckmans, Gonzague 1927: 172-175 | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1927. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Première série. Le Muséon, 40: 161-200. |