LP 258

Siglum: LP 258
Alternative Sigla: Mr.A 2
Transliteration: l ḫyḏt bn ḫbṯ bn s¹mk bn s¹wr bn mlk bn bdn w ḥll h- dr tbb m- ḥrn b- rʾy ḏkr f h bʿls¹my s¹lm
Translation: By Ḫyḏt son of Ḫbṯ son of S¹mk son of S¹wr son of Mlk son of Bdn and he camped here having become lost [on his way] from Ḥrn during the rising of Aries so O Bʿls¹my [grant] security

Interpretation

Commentary: There is a stray scratch, shallower than the lines which form the letters, between the lām auctoris and the ḫ. Scratches around the b of the second bn give it the appearance of a m, but it is clearly a b. The signs for b and r are clearly distinguished in this text, with r consisting of a long straight line with a short curve at one end. For the interpretation of the verb tbb compare Classical Arabic tabba "he suffered loss" or "he became lost", here in the infinitive, compare Arabic tabab, tabāb, tabīb "being lost". On b- rʾy ḏkr see Al-Jallad 2016: 99.

Provenance: Al-Mrōshan consists of four long, low mounds, running roughly east-west in a flat area where the Wādī al-Gharz spreads out. These mounds create a series of "gorges" perhaps 3 m high in the Wādī which is otherwise very flat and at this point hardly distinguishable from the surrounding area, the "Wādī-bed" consisting of several channels approximately 30–80 cm deep and 4–10 m wide. The southerly three mounds are covered with graves and enclosures. Much of the rock is not suitable for inscribing. It was visited in 1995 by the Safaitic Epigraphic Survey Programme and all the published texts it rediscovered came from the most northerly of the southern three mounds, and most were concentrated at its eastern end.

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.
Al-Jallad, A.M An Ancient Arabian Zodiac. The Constellations in the Safaitic Inscriptions. Part II. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 27, 2016: 84–106.
Inscriptions recorded by the Safaitic Epigraphic Survey Programme in 1995 on the right bank of the Wādī Gharz at al-Mrōshan, southern Syria, and published here.

Date Found: 1904, 1995
Current Location: In situ
Subjects: Astronomical, Camping, Deity, Genealogy, Isolated Prayer, Place-name, Present in a place
Script: Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID: #0008842
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