the incrustation, and only the lower part of a final m is visible. This is followed by the personal name ʿnmw, which is well attested
in the Nabataean inscriptions of Arabia and elsewhere and represents the Arabic names Ghānim or Ghanm, and the phrase br-h “his son”. The diagonal line at the left base of the final h is extra-neous to the text.
Line 2: It is clear that what remains of this line does not follow directly from the previous one since a certain amount of text has been lost under the crystalline growth. The first name, ḥyw, is well-attested in Arabia.6 There is a small hole in the stone below the b of br which gives the false impression that it continues below the horizontal line joining it to the next sign. The word br “son of” has already been represented in two different ways on this altar (lines 2 of A and 1 of B). After a clear š, the interpretation of the next letter(s) is complicated by a large chip at the top.
Immediately below this chip the head of a k can be seen and this is followed by a clear r (below the left end of the horizontal head of the k) and a final n. The name škrn is not previously attested in Nabataean, but the name s¹krn is extremely common in Safaitic,7 and has been found once in a Thamudic B text near Taymāʾ (Eskoubi 2007, 271, no. 147). Compare also the Arab name Sakrān.
The final word in the line is nqš. The loop of the q is faint but discernible on the photographs. This word is also unattested in Nabataean, but it is tempting to see it as a loan from Arabic naqš “carv-ing/engraving” or naqqāš “carver/engraver”. In either case, it would have to be in the construct state, since it lacks the final ʾ of the emphatic. Unfortunately, the second part of the construct is lost under the incrustation at the beginning of the following line.
Line 3: The first letter visible on the photographs is a ḥ. Despite its meandering stem, the next must be a r and this is followed by a final h. Thus, the reading [ʾ]{ḥ}r-h “his posterity”, a phrase well-known from the property notices on the tombs at Ḥegrā, seems likely. The final phrase, l-ʿlm
“for ever”, is clear.
6 For Nabataean, see Cantineau 1930–1932, 95 (11 instances), to which add 3 in Milik – Starcky 1970, and 14 instances from the Darb al-Bakra inscriptions (Nehmé 2018); it has also been found 28 times so far in Dadanitic, twice in Taymanitic and once in Safaitic (see OCIANA, consulted 206h November, 2019). The final -w in the Taymanitic and Safaitic examples show that it must have been followed by a vowel at least in these languages.
7 There were 309 attestations in Safaitic, and two in Hismaic in OCIANA when consulted on 6th November, 2019.
Fig. 6.5 TA 3424+4259 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin). TA 3424+4259 ( TA 3424+4259 م ،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح( TA 3424+4259 م ،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
Michael C. A. Macdonald
128 TA 4590
Square: Area E / baulk between E1 and E2 Stratigraphic Unit: SU 219
Context: Debris
Season in which it was excavated: 2006
Location: Building E-b1, Room 6 (local coordinates:
10005.64 E, 10054.71 N) Material: Grey sandstone
Dimensions: 14.5 × 12.5 × 6.5 cm
A small roughly triangular chip from the lower part of a stela. The edge of the lower part of the frame is pre-served. It bears the remains of the last two lines of an inscription in the calligraphic Nabataean script.
Text1. ----{š}{l}m br
The tops of the first two surviving letters in line 1 have been damaged, but the lower diagonal stroke of the š can still be seen. It is uncertain whether the next letter is a l which has lost its upper part, or a n. However, while šnm is not known in Nabataean, either as personal name in its own right or as the end of one, šlm has been found at least six times as a personal name in the Nabat- aean inscriptions of North Arabia. It also forms the second part of the names ʾbšlm, ʾšlm, yšlm, and mšlm,8 any of which this name could be.
TA 5465.8
Square: Area F / F7
Stratigraphic Unit: SU 3636 Context: Debris on floor
Season in which it was found: 2007
Location: Building F-b1West Room 7 (local coordinates: 9964.00 E; 9985.00 N) Material: Pottery
Dimensions: Diam. 32 cm, Height 21 cm, Thickness 1.7 cm.
A hand-made large, coarse storage vessel (‘pithos’) with at least two opposite, looped handles on the shoulder. The fabric is characterized by numerous organic inclusions (vegetable matter;
Macrofabric 4, see Hausleiter 2014, 424 Table 2).
For a vessel of this kind, the decorations are unusual. Two cereal ear-like motifs have been grooved across the top of the rim; the outer lip has been indented by a series of shallow impres-sions. A coil has been applied around the shoulder, forming a three-dimensional wavy line. Below it, two horizontal wavy lines have been grooved, defining a register at the mid-height of which
8 For all these names see Negev 1991 and Nehmé 2018.
Fig. 6.6 TA 4590 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
ةيطبن روّخب ةقرحم
129 was placed the lower attachment of
the vertical handle. The inscription consists of four letters grooved into the unfired vessel between the pre-served lower attachment of a handle to the left and a grooved, vertical, cereal-ear-like motif to its right.
Both the context, collapse SU 3636 (OL F:3, Building F-b1 East;
see Tourtet – Weigel 2015, 395;
Watkins 2018), and the shape (see e.g. Tourtet – Weigel 2015, 393 fig.
6e) suggest a date of the vessel not earlier than the 2nd to 4th century AD (Francelin Tourtet).
What survives of the inscription consists of four Nabataean letters.
The space to the right of the first, and an incised cereal-ear made with a thicker point beyond it, suggest that we have the beginning of the inscription, but it would appear that it continued after the fourth letter onto a piece of the vessel which has not been recovered.
Text ṣyh{w/p}
Commentary
It is difficult to interpret this.
Fig. 6.8 TA 5465.8 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
Fig. 6.7 TA 5465.8 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
ةيطبن روّخب ةقرحم
Michael C. A. Macdonald
130 TA 8675
Square: Area F / F9
Stratigraphic Unit: SU 5783 Context: Fill
Season in which it was excavated: 2009 Location: Building F-b7, Room 2 (local coordinates: 9980.00 E; 9992.50 N) Material: Sandstone
Dimensions: 22.5 × 9 × 10 cm
A sandstone incense altar with a shallow, roughly hewn depression at the top, in-scribed on one face with a five-line Naba-taean inscription. Above and below each line of text there is a roughly but deeply incised dividing line. The surface of the inscribed face has suffered a great deal of damage and it is very difficult to read the text. At the beginning of the first line there is a large chip.
Text1. {d}nh m{g}{m}{r}
1. {This is} {the incense altar}----2. ---- {son of} {Šlmt}
Most of the letters are too damaged to make any sense of this text. For the word mgmr see TA 884, above.
TA 12568
Square: Area E / baulk between E5 and E26 Stratigraphic Unit: SU 308
Context: Debris
Season in which it was excavated: 2012
Location: North of Building E-b1 (local coordinates: 10016.81 E, 10067.37 N) Material: Sandstone
Dimensions: 48.6 × 19.0 × 19.5 cm
Fig. 6.9 TA 8675 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
ةيطبن روّخب ةقرحم
131
A fragment of the leg of a sandstone statue with the remains of 5 lines of Nabataean. It is not clear whether these represent one or more inscriptions, or are simply exercises in carving by an apprentice.
Text1. ʿly br ----2. ----{ḥ){y}ṣlm----3. ----{š}lmn br t ḥ----4.
{----}ṣl----5. {----}{ṣ/t}----Translation
1. ʿly son of ----2. ---- statue
3. {Šlmn} daughter/son of ----4.
----ṣl----5. ---- {ṣ/t}----Commentary
The letters are well-formed but so few of them remain that it is not possible to make any coherent sense of the text(s). In line 1 the first three letters could either represent the name ʿly or one of several names ending in these letters, e.g. yʿly, ʿbdʿly, ʾwšʾlbʿly, etc. However, it should be noted that so far these other names have been found mainly in Sinai and not in Arabia. Because of this uncertainty ----ʿly has not been included in the Index of names. Indeed, this would be the first time the name ʿly had been found in Nabataean in Arabia and possibly the first occurrence in
Fig. 6.10 TA 12568 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, J. Kramer).
لكشلا 6.10 TA 12568
هعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
راثلآا د مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
ي ، )رمارك . .
Michael C. A. Macdonald
132
Nabataean anywhere.9 We do not, of course, know if the final y in this name, represented a long vowel [ī], a diphthong [ay] or a triphthong [ayV]. A name with the same spelling ʿ-l-y is very common in Safaitic, however here the final letter could only represent a thriphthong.
At the far right of the second line the bases of two vertical strokes can be seen, each with a short horizontal ‘foot’ pointing left. These could either represent two letters (compare the ṣ-l later in the line) or a single letter such as a ḥ or a t. If the two verticals belong to a single letter, com-parison with the last two surviving letters in line 3 suggests that it was a ḥ (which seems to have two ‘feet’) rather than a t on which only the left vertical has one. The following letter has suffered damage and could possibly be a final y, if one assumes that the horizontal line between it and the following ṣ is extraneous. Given, the fact that this text is on part of a statue, it seems reasonable to assume – though, of course, one cannot prove it – that ṣlm here refers to the statue and does not represent Ṣlm, the name of the god of Taymāʾ.10 Because the surface immediately to the left of the word has been lost, we also cannot know whether it was originally ṣlmʾ ‘the statue’ or ṣlm N ‘the statue of N’.
The space between lines 2 and 3 is much greater than that between lines 1–2 and 3–5. In the present state of the stone it is impossible to determine the significance of this, if any. There are faint traces of what could be the side strokes of a š at the beginning of what remains of line 3, after which l m n are clear as are the b r which follow. Since the only name known in Nabataean which ends in -lmn is šlmn, which is a man’s name – and we have no evidence for its being borne by a woman – the t after br probably belongs to the patronym. However, male names beginning with tḥ have not yet been found in Nabataean11 though a variety of different names beginning with this combination are found in ones and twos in Ancient North Arabian.12 We have therefore the un-satisfactory choice of assuming either that here {š}lmn represents a woman’s name or that {š}lmn was a man and his father’s name began with tḥ. In view of the Ancient North Arabian evidence, the latter seems marginally preferable.
TA 14763
Square: Area E / E1
Stratigraphic Unit: SU 2743 Context: Reused in a wall
Season in which it was excavated: 2014
Location: Eastern part of Building E-b1, Room 8-9 (local coordinates: 10006.54 E, 10054.66 N) Material: Red sandstone
Dimensions: 17 × 14 × 9 cm
9 It appears to have been found once in Egypt in Littmann – Meredith 1953, no. 29, though it is uncertain from the published copy whether or not it is a separate name or the end of a longer one. Note that Littmann – Meredith nos 31and 38 (cited as separate examples in Negev 1991, 51) are actually two copies of the same inscription published under two different numbers and read differently. In fact, the text had already been published from a better copy in Aimé-Giron 1939, 346 where it is clear that the name is not ʿly but grmʾlbʿly. The three supposed examples from Sinai, CIS ii 1150, 1504, 1534, are all the result of extremely doubtful, if not impossible, readings.
10 However, see TA 14285+14286+13651 below.
11 However, a woman’s name tḥʾ brt ʿbdḥrtt is found in P. Yadin 2/4 and 3/26. See Yadin et al. 2002, 208–209, 238–239.
12 See for instance tḥbb (seven times as a male name in Safaitic and twice where the gender is not clear, once as a male name in Hismaic and three times where the bearer's gender is not clear, twice in Dadanitic as a woman's name), tḥdr (three times in Safaitic), tḥwr (four times in Safaitic); tḥmr (once in Dadanitic), etc. See OCIANA (consulted 6th November 2019).
133 A fragment of red sandstone broken at the
top, bottom, and on the right side, though part of the frame has survived on the left side. It bears the ends of two lines of a Nabataean inscription carved in relief and separated by a line-divider, also in relief. A tiny part of a second line divider survives below the l of mlk. This, and the fact that this line ends with the word mlk, strongly suggest that there was at least one further line containing nbṭw and possibly more of the king’s regnal title. Apart from this, it is impossible to tell how much of the text has been lost. more common form of Malichus II’s name, mnkw.
TA 14881
Square: Area F / F15 Stratigraphic Unit: SU 8679 Context: Fill
Season in which it was excavated: 2014
Location: Silo (local coordinates: 9980.68 E, 9998.30 N) Material: Grey sandstone
Dimensions: 77.4 × 18 × 11.6 cm Text1. npš grmw
2. br ʾʿšnw 3. l- ʿlm Translation
1. Monument of Grmw 2. son of ʾʿšnw
3. for ever.
Fig. 6.11 TA 14763 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, J. Kramer).
Michael C. A. Macdonald
134 Commentary
The first name is well known but the second has not been found before. Note that in line 1, the š of npš has been joined to the g of grmw across the word boundary which is unusual.
Fig. 6.12 TA 14881 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, N. Becker).
ةيطبن روّخب ةقرحم
135
Pottery sherds with Dadanitic inscription, TA 888+894 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
،ةيناداد ًةباتك نلامحت ناتيراّخف ناترسِك TA 888+894
، م ،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
. .)ن َزوك
لكشلا 7.1 TA 888+894
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، م . ن َزوك ).
لكشلا 7.2 TA 888+894
،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
نيلروب .أ ).
لكشلا 7.3 TA 11414.1
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، م . ن َزوك ) .
لكشلا 7.4 TA 11414.1
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، نيلروب .أ ).
لكشلا 7.5 TA 12271.20 راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، هيتروت .ف ).
لكشلا 7.6 TA 15555.139
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، ِستلوه .س ل ).
137
s
ection7: t
hed
adaniticinscriptions TA 888+894Square: Area E / E6
Stratigraphic Unit: SU 1253 Context: Debris
Season in which it was excavated:
2005Location: Above Building E-b9 Material: Pottery
Dimensions: Preserved height 23.1 cm
Two sherds, which join, bearing parts of two lines of a Dadanitic inscription. The letters were in-cised before firing.
Text1. ----{f/ʿ}lm | w m----2. ----{t} | {s²}b----Commentary
The forms of the l and the m are clearly Dadanitic. If the second letter in line 2 is a s² it is very unusual. Unfortunately, not enough of the text has survived to permit a translation.
Fig. 7.1 TA 888+894 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
Fig. 7.2 TA 888+894 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, A. Borlin).
،ةيناداد ًةباتك نلامحت ناتيراّخف ناترسِك TA 12271.20 راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح( TA 15555.139 TA 12271.20 راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح( TA 15555.139 TA 12271.20 راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح( TA 15555.139
Michael C. A. Macdonald
138 TA 11414.1
Square: Area E / E18 / E19 South Stratigraphic Unit: SU 7401 Context: Fill
Season in which it was excavated: 2012
Location: Well east of Building E-b1 (local coordinates: 10023.50 E, 10041.50 N) Material: Pottery
Dimensions: Preserved height 15 cm
A sherd of similar ware to TA 888+894, with what appears to be part of a single line of a Dadanitic inscription incised in the leather-hard phase of making the pot (i.e. before firing). The inscription retains the only remaining grey slip left on the sherd.
Fig. 7.4 TA 11414.1 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, M. Cusin).
Fig. 7.5 TA 11414.1 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, A. Borlin).
،ةيناداد ًةباتك نلامحت ناتيراّخف ناترسِك TA 888+894
، م ،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
. .)ن َزوك
لكشلا 7.1 TA 888+894
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، م . ن َزوك ).
لكشلا 7.2 TA 888+894
،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
نيلروب .أ ).
لكشلا 7.3 TA 11414.1
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، م . ن َزوك ) .
لكشلا 7.4 TA 11414.1
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، نيلروب .أ ).
لكشلا 7.5 TA 12271.20 راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، هيتروت .ف ).
لكشلا 7.6 TA 15555.139
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، ِستلوه .س ل ).
،ةيناداد ًةباتك نلامحت ناتيراّخف ناترسِك TA 888+894
، م ،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
. .)ن َزوك
لكشلا 7.1 TA 888+894
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، م . ن َزوك ).
لكشلا 7.2 TA 888+894
،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
نيلروب .أ ).
لكشلا 7.3 TA 11414.1
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، م . ن َزوك ) .
لكشلا 7.4 TA 11414.1
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، نيلروب .أ ).
لكشلا 7.5 TA 12271.20 راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، هيتروت .ف ).
لكشلا 7.6 TA 15555.139
راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم رشنلا قوقح(
مسق ،ينامللأا قرشلا
، ِستلوه .س ل ).
139 Text ----
{l}{ṣ}gbb----Commentary
Unfortunately, the surviving letters are not entirely diagnostic in deciding whether the text is Dadanitic or Taymanitic, and all depends on whether the second letter is a Dadanitic ṣ in which the circle at the top has been damaged. If there was no circle it could be a Taymanitic h, which would be upside-down in relation to the rest of the letters. Neither hypothesis is satisfactory. If the letters are to be read as Taymanitic, the text would read: ----{l}{h}mbb----.
TA 15555.139
Square: Area E-East / E19 Stratigraphic Unit: SU 8646 Context: Debris
Season in which it was found: 2014
Location: East of Building E-b1 (local coordinates: 10025 E; 10049 N) Material: Pottery
Dimensions: 9.5 × 8.4 × 1 cm, diameter 19 cm.
A rim-sherd of a closed vessel. Macrofabric 3 (see Hausleiter 2014, 424 Table 2). The letters may have been cut into the rim of the vessel after it was fired. If correct, it would be a unique example of this so far at Taymāʾ. The vessel cannot be dated by its shape and although the context (SU 8646; Square E19), dates to the second half of the first millennium BC it contains various older wares of the third and second millennia (Francelin Tourtet).
The slight angle of the left vertical of the ʾ suggests that the text might be Dadanitic rather than Taymanitic. known from Taymanit-ic (JSTham 547.1 and TM.T.027, see Macdon-ald – Al-Najem 2021), or ʾzn which is known once from Safaitic.
Fig. 7.6 TA 15555.139 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, C. Hölzel).
لكشلا 7.5 TA 15555.139 TA 15555.139
Taymanitic inscriptions TA 9303 (right) and TA 9311 (left) on the eastern perimeter wall of Building E-b1 (© DAI, Orient-Abteilung, J. Kramer).
لا ناشقن لا نايباتك لات نايئامي TA 9303 و )نيميلا ىلإ(
TA 9311 ىنبملاب طيحملا يقرشلا روسلا ىلع )راسيلا ىلإ(
رشنلا قوقح(E-b1
.)رمارك .ي ،قرشلا مسق ،ينامللأا راثلآا دهعمل ةظوفحم
141