CC BY 4.0
The above license applies to the data in this record, but not to any images displayed. The images are the property
of third parties and are either used with permission or reproduced from publications (see the credits below each image).
al-ʿĀdī 21
By kind permission of M. al-Ḥāj
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 8-9 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 ʾrymn ḥwr S²kʿm s¹qnyw Ḥwkm Nbṭ w-ʾlh-s¹ww ṣlm ḏhbn
2 mṯbm ṯwbw l-Ḥwkm b-hgrn S²kʿm b-ʾrḍ Yhnṭl-rṯdw Ḥwk—
3 m w-ʾlh-s¹ww mqmhy-s¹m w-ʾʾḏn-s¹m w-ḏ-l-s¹m w-ṣlm-s¹m bn ms¹nkrm
4 bn brṯ-s¹ b-ʿm w-b-Ḥwkm w-b Ḥbr ʾl S²kʿm w-b mrʾ-s¹m S²hr Y—
5 gl Yhrgb mlk Qtbn w-b ʾqwl-s¹m w-s²ʿb-s¹m Bklm[ ḏ-Mrymtm]
| 4 | ḥbr ʾl S²kʿm, the first word being a common noun (al-Hajj). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 (Those from the tribe of) Rymn, inhabitants of S²kʿm, dedicated to Ḥwkm Nbṭ and His gods the statue in bronze, 2 as an offering they offered to Ḥwkm in the city of S²kʿm in the land of Yhnṭl; they entrusted to Ḥwkm 3 and His gods their material resources, their faculties, what belongs to them, and their statue, against everyone who may damage (it) 4 from its place; by ʿm, Ḥwkm and Ḥbr, god of S²kʿm, and by their lord S²hr 5 Ygl Yhrgb king of Qatabān, and by their ʾqwl and their tribe Bklm ḏ-Mrymtm. |
| 4 | According to al-Hajj, Ḥbr ʾl S²kʿm must be interpreted as "priest of the town ʾl S²kʿm". |
| al-Ḥājj 2013: 123 | al-Ḥājj, Muḥammad ʿAlī 2013. Madīna Šukuʿ wa-ʾarḍ Yuhanṭil fi ḍawʾ naqš qitbānī ǧadīd muʾrraḫ bi-ʿahd al-malik Šhr Ygl Yhrḥb (al-ʿĀdī 21). Silsilat mudāwalāt ʿilmiyya muḥakama li-l-liqāʾ al-sanawī li-l-ǧamʿiyyah (al-Ǧamʿiyya al-Saʿūdīya li-l-Dirāsāt al-Aṯariyya), al-Mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya al-Saʿūdiyya ʿabr al-ʿuṣūr, 3: 119-144. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h.21, w. 53, th. 8-13 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Hajar al-ʿĀdī |
| Ancient site | Mrymtm |
| Geographical area | Wādī Ḥarīb |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context |
| Notes | The inscription was found in situ by an inhabitant of al-ʿĀdī and was brought to his house. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
Members of the family of Mrymtm are living in a region near Aden. The probable involvement of Qatabanians in the sea-trade could be proved by this text.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| al-Ḥājj 2013: 143 | al-Ḥājj, Muḥammad ʿAlī 2013. Madīna Šukuʿ wa-ʾarḍ Yuhanṭil fi ḍawʾ naqš qitbānī ǧadīd muʾrraḫ bi-ʿahd al-malik Šhr Ygl Yhrḥb (al-ʿĀdī 21). Silsilat mudāwalāt ʿilmiyya muḥakama li-l-liqāʾ al-sanawī li-l-ǧamʿiyyah (al-Ǧamʿiyya al-Saʿūdīya li-l-Dirāsāt al-Aṯariyya), al-Mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya al-Saʿūdiyya ʿabr al-ʿuṣūr, 3: 119-144. |