OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

BES20 271

Siglum
BES20 271
Transliteration
l {ḥ}n{k} {b}n {s¹}{r} bn mf{n}y bn [----]
Translation
By {Ḥnk} {son of} {S¹r} son of {Mfny} son of [----]

Interpretation

Commentary
The inscription is very difficult to read on the stone and seems to be incomplete. {ḥ}n{k}: The first letter seems to be formed of three vertical lines, perhaps forming a ḥ with the open end facing downwards. Despite this, at the bottom of the letter there seems to be the faint traces of lines that connect the two outer lines into a full oval. It is not clear in the photographs whether this faint outline is indeed present or is in fact damage to the stone. The third letter seems to be a vertical line with a shallow curve, at the top of which there seems to be a short diagonal line. This has been read as a k. {b}n: The first letter appears to be joined to the previous letter {k} by two horizontal lines. Upon close inspection of the photographs, these seem to be unrelated marks on the stone. {s¹}{r}: The reading of the name S¹r is very tentative here. The photographs do not clearly show the area of damage on the stone following the n of bn. There seems to be a narrow V-shape almost entirely covered by the damage. This has been read as an s¹. The next letter seems to be a short angular r, nevertheless the upper hook of the letter appears to continue vertically above the letter. This would form the letter k, but in a different form to the possible k of the first name. mf{n}y: Between the f and y, there seems to be a faint short vertical line. This would give the common name Mfny. The line read as a n, however, does somewhat resemble damage on the stone. Following the final name there are the letters bn, reaching the edge of the stone. The photographs do not show any deliberate marks on the stone around the edge of the stone.

Associated Inscriptions

  • Inscriptions recorded during the Badia Epigraphic Survey 2020 and published here
Site
Wādī Mismā al-šarqī, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
2020
Current Location
In situ
Subject
Genealogy
Script
Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0057818
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