LP 161

Siglum: LP 161
Alternative Sigla: Hf.A 2
Transliteration: l flṭt bn tm bn flṭt bn bhs² bn ʾḏnt w ḥll ʿl- h- ḥs¹y f klm -h h- ʾs¹d f h lt {s}{¹}{l}m
Translation: By Flṭt son of Tm son of Flṭt son of Bhs² son of ʾḏnt and he camped near a place where the water lies just below the surface then the lion injured him so O Lt [grant] security

Interpretation

Commentary: The text is carved in large letters over two faces of the rock. A ḥs¹y is a place where water sinks easily through the permeable soil or sand and is then stopped by an impermeable layer of rock and so is trapped relatively close to the surface and can be reached with only a small amount of digging (Lane 572c–573a, Littmann 1940: 123–124, Groom 1983: 112 under hisá). Al-Ḥifnah is a place of this sort and indeed the name, ḥifnah, means a place where water collects (see Groom 1983: 111 Ḥifnah and 113, under Ḥufnah).

Provenance: The Wādī al-Shām is a wide gorge at this point and the site of al-Ḥifnah runs downstream from a series of wells in the Wādī bed to a series of pools which were still full in mid-July 1995. Some of the wells are large and may be ancient, others are of the small Bedouin type. In July 1995 three were blocked and one was operational. Site Hf.A is the escarpment of the left bank of the Wādī north of the pool, where the major concentration of inscriptions is to be found.

Associated Inscriptions

Littmann, E. Safaïtic Inscriptions. Syria. Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904–1905 and 1909. Division IV. Section C. Leiden: Brill, 1943.
Lane, E.W. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Derived from the Best and Most Copious Eastern Sources. (Volume 1 in 8 parts [all published]). London: Williams & Norgate, 1863-1893.
Groom, N. A Dictionary of Arabic Topography and Placenames. A Transliterated Arabic-English Dictionary with an Arabic Glossary of Topographical Words and Placenames. London: Longman / Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1983.
Littmann, E. Thamūd und Ṣafā. Studien zur altnordarabischen Inschriftenkunde. (Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 25.1). Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1940.
Inscriptions recorded by the Safaitic Epigraphic Survey Programme in 1995 at Al-Ḥifnah, and published here

Date Found: 1904–1905; 1995
Current Location: In situ
Subjects: Camping, Deity, Genealogy, Isolated Prayer, Topographic features, Wild animals
Script: Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID: #0008745
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