NRW.C 1

Siglum: NRW.C 1
Transliteration: l ḥrb bn s¹lm bn mrz bn ʾdm bn ḥḍg bn s¹wr bn ḥmyn w rʿy h- ḍʾn ḫḏrf f h lt s¹lm m- ḫs¹f w ʿwr l- ḏ yʿwr h- s¹fr
Translation: By Ḥrb son of S¹lm son of Mrz son of ʾdm son of Ḥḍg son of S¹wr son of Ḥmyn and he pastured the sheep on ḫḏrf and so O Lt [grant] security from dearth and blind whoever scratches out the inscription

Interpretation

Commentary: This text is in incised letters and meanders across the face. According to Lane (713a) "ḫiḏrāf is 'a certain kind of plant of the spring, which dries up when it feels [the heat] of the summer; or a species of [the kind] called ḥamḍ having a small leaf, and rising to the height of a cubit." For a more technical description see Mandaville 2011: 251–252 who identifies it as Salsola volkensii Aschers. et Schweinf. Chenopodiaceae.

Lane, E.W. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Derived from the Best and Most Copious Eastern Sources. (Volume 1 in 8 parts [all published]). London: Williams & Norgate, 1863-1893.
Mandaville, J.P. Bedouin Ethnobotany. Plant Concepts and Uses in a Desert Pastoral World. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2011.
Inscriptions recorded by the Safaitic Epigraphic Survey Programme in 1995 at a tiny cairn or tumbled sheep-pen, 200 m west of the "Roman road" between al-Namārah and the Ruḥbah, and published here.