Roads of Arabia

16 Arabie US p270-285_BAT.qxd 23/06/10 21:59 Page 284
ROADS OF ARABIA
119. Lihyanite inscription
5th–2nd centuries BC
Red sandstone
23 x 14 cm
Al-Ula
Department of Archaeology Museum, King Saud University, Riyadh, 169 D1
…]Ddn b-N…
…] f-lyrb…
…]f-lbyd
Excepting the first word Ddn all the rest is difficult to interpret. Ddn
is the name of a mountain, either the one now known as Jabal al-
Khurayba with the major site of the oasis at its foot or else Jabal
Umm Daraj with a sanctuary and important archaeological vestiges
at its summit.
The inscriptions tend to suggest a high place where a certain cultic
act was performed.
S. F.
120. Lihyanite inscription
5th–2nd centuries BC
Red sandstone
86 x 37 x 30 cm
Al-Ula
Department of Archaeology Museum, King Saud University, Riyadh, 338 D 5
h-Ṣyġ h- = the craftsman (jeweller, arrow-maker)
wdq h-m = offered this
mtlt l-d- = statuette to
Ġbt f-[r] = dhu-Ghabat
[ḍyhm]
for Him to be satisfied with them
The provenance of this inscription is not known but its script is the
same as several texts found in the village of al-Ula and at Khirbat al-
Khurayba, 1 where the script features stiff angular letters unlike those
of ‘Ikma which tend to be rounded, cursive. The texts D42 et D45
come from Khirbat al-Khurayba where vestiges of a sanctuary and
the wall of the ancient city were found. The text D42 follows the
same structure as this text:
‘ltṣr bn ‘mr hṣn‘ ‘bd l-mr’-h f-rḍy-h – ‘ltṣr son of ‘mr the craftsman did
for his Lord for Him to be satisfied with him. In D45 it refers to the
offering of a statuette.
S. F.
1. Farès-Drappeau 2005, D5, 12, 17, 42 and 64.
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