WSLDZ 1

Interpretation

Commentary: This text is lightly incised and runs vertically immediately in front of the archer on foot.

Provenance: Site 67 is on the left bank of Wādī al-Shām, downstream of the ancient well at Zalaf, from the point where the Wādī turns north-east. It covers an area which is 500 m long and consists of scattered stones on a gently sloping Wādī bank with some cairns and enclosures. A number of the inscriptions sampled from this area were identified with texts from three different groups of Dunand's copies, the majority being from the areas he describes as "on the right of the track leading to the Ruḥba" (C 1884-2129) and "on the left bank of Wādī al-Shām about 3 km upstream towards Zalaf" (C 2901-3105). In several cases, texts attributed to two different groups were found lying side-by-side. It is clear that neither of Dunand's provenances is a suitable description of the position of these texts and this illustrates the difficulties of locating them. Note that the co-ordinates are approximate.

Associated Inscriptions

Macdonald, M.C.A. Horses, asses, hybrids, and their uses in the ancient rock-art of the Syro-Arabian desert. in K. Linduff & P. Raulwing (eds), Equids in the Ancient Near East, Egypt, and Arabia. Proceedings of a conference in memory of Mary Aitken Littauer. Oxford: BAR, 2019.
Inscriptions recorded by the Safaitic Epigraphic Survey Programme in 1995 on the left bank of Wādī al-Shām, downstream of Zalaf, and published here.

Site: Unnamed site on the left bank of Wādī al-Shām, downstream of Zalaf wells, Rif Dimašq Governorate, Syria