OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

C 405

Siglum
C 405
Alternative Sigla
Wetzstein 5
Transliteration
----m bn ms²ʿr w nẓr ḥy
Translation
----m son of Ms²ʿr and he saw Ḥy

Interpretation

Provenance
The co-ordinates are from http://www.geonames.org/. Ruǧm al-Marʾah is a high structure on top of a small hill with extensive views in all directions. To the east the ḥarrah stretches for c. 10-20 km with several qīʿān (singular qāʿ) before giving way to the ḥamād. The tower as described by Wetzstein (1860: 34) and de Vogüé (1868–1877: 143), appears to have been in ruins by the time Dussaud & Macler visited it (1901: 33, fig. 4) and has probably not altered greatly since. It is very ruined, though some courses of masonry can be seen behind the tumble of rocks in the west, east and (less clearly) the north sides. What may be the remains of the staircase mentioned by Wetzstein are visible on the west. side. On the south, there is a very large grave (c. 5 x 2.5 m.) and three small tombs, plus a cave. On the east side there is another large Ahl al-Jabal grave with “wings”. These may be the "two or three Bedouin tombs" seen by Waddington (Chabot 1939: 365). Along the west and north-west sides of the main outcrop is a line of small structures, all very ruined, forming a continuous wall. To the north, east and south there are smaller outcrops. The inscriptions are mainly at the north-west corner of the tower, with a few on the rocks to the north, east and south-east, and few, if any, in the outcrops. Most of the rock is unsuitable for inscribing and much is covered by lichen, particularly on the west side. Many of the inscriptions say w nẓr (“and he kept watch”) suggesting that this was a look-out post (as described by Wetzstein) even in antiquity. Note that this is not the same place as Ruǧm al-Mārrah.
Original Reading Credit
C
Original Translation Credit
C

  • Ryckmans, G. Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum: Pars Quinta, Inscriptiones Saracenicae Continens: Tomus I, Fasciculus I, Inscriptiones Safaiticae. Paris: E Reipublicae Typographeo, 1950–1951.
  • Grimme, H. Texte und Untersuchungen zur ṣafatenisch-arabischen Religion. Mit einer Einführung in die ṣafatenische Epigraphik. (Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des Altertums, 16/01/2012). [Reprint, 1970, Johnson, New York]. Paderborn: Schöningh, 1929.
  • Chabot, J.-P. Le voyage en Syrie de W.R. [sic] Waddington. Pages 351-366 in [no ed], Mélanges Syriens offerts à Monsieur René Dussaud par ses amis et ses élèves. . Haut-Commissariat de la République Française en Syrie et au Liban, Service des Antiquités. (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique, 30.1). Paris: Geuthner, 1939.
Site
Ruǧm al-Marʾah, Rif Dimašq Governorate, Syria
Date Found
1858
Current Location
In situ
Subject
Genealogy
Script
Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0003610
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