Damascus Museum 24235.1

Siglum
Damascus Museum 24235.1
Transliteration
l mlk bn ḥtl w ts²wq ʾl- ynʿ bn s¹ly w ʾl- {k}{b}----
OCIANA
Translation
By Mlk son of Ḥtl and he yearned for Ynʿ son of S¹ly and for {Kb----}
OCIANA
Language and Script
Hismaic

Interpretation

Commentary
A limestone tripod platter with a spout, the legs of which have been broken off. Damascus Museum 24235.1 begins to the left of the spout and runs around the outer edge of the platter until it meets 24235.2 and stops apparently stops abruptly. The latter continues on the base of the platter, taking up all the space there. It is clear that it is 24235.2 on the base because the preposition ʾl- required after ts²wq is not used before the names there, whereas after the expression ḏkrt lt (in 24235.2) no preposition is required. At the point where the two inscriptions meet there is a curious sign which at first sight looks like a "square" (i.e. angular) r facing towards 24235.1. However, while the lower part looks like the hook of a r, the upper part does not. Very tentatively, we would suggest that the authors of the two inscriptions had agreed a division of space on the edge of the platter, each starting from the spout to the point directly opposite which was marked by a vertical line (and now also by a large chip), see the photograph of the top of the platter. When the author of 24235.2 reached the dividing line, he still had a great deal more to say and so continued onto the stump of the leg below it and thence onto the base of the platter. This shows that this leg, at least, was already broken off by the time the texts were inscribed, suggesting that it was a waste product used to carve graffiti. The author of 24235.1 reached the limit but still had one more name he wanted to carve and so carved it at right angles to the rest of his text right up against the dividing line. We would suggest that this could read from the bottom upwards {ẓ}{b/r}.

Associated Inscriptions
Site
Jordan
Current Location
Damascus Museum (24235)
Subjects
Genealogy, Yearning
Old OCIANA ID
#0051599
Download Images
Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA