WH 2827

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: WH: hs¹ nmr h-ḥyt for hn bnmrh [h-] ḥyt
Commentary: Although most of the letters are clear the reading of the text is not and the interpretation here is offered very tentatively. The h at the beginning of the text is clear but it is not certain whether it is followed by a n which was accidentally attached to a following b or whether one should read hs¹ (as in WH). On hn meaning "here" see Al-Jallad 2015: 156. We would suggest that the h- before ḥyt was assimilated to the h at the end of bnmrh in pronunciation, as in l-h rgm for l-h [h-]rgm. It seems clear that ḥyt must mean "drawing" here, rather than "animals" as it is translated in for example WH 2464, 2840. We would suggest that WH's interpretation of the drawing is incorrect. The figure on the left which WH interpret as a woman has a clear penis between its legs and may be holding a bow in his left hand while reaching behind him with his right to get an arrow. The supposed penis of the man coming towards him with raised fists is not in fact attached to the body and might be a club dropped on the ground as the man attacks with his fists. Beneath him is a man with raised arms, possibly dead or inured lying on the ground and holding in his right hand a trident-like weapon. Finally, there is a fourth man with a composite bow and arrow behind the man with raised fists. It seems likely that the drawing shows as fight rather than an attempted rape as suggested by WH.

Provenance: WH Cairn 37 and this inscription were rediscovered and photographed by the Badia Epigraphic Survey in 2018 and the co-ordinates given are exact.
Original Reading Credit: OCIANA

Associated Drawings: See the commentary. There is a drawing of an ostrich on an adjoining face.

Winnett, F.V. & Harding, G.L. Inscriptions from Fifty Safaitic Cairns. (Near and Middle East Series, 9). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978.
Al-Jallad, A.M. An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 80). Leiden: Brill, 2015.