2013a Late Antique Arabia Ẓafār, Capital of Ḥimyar, Rehabilitation of a ‘Decadent’ Society, Excavations of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg 1998–2010 in the Highlands of the Yemen, Abhandlungen Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 29, Wiesbaden (original) (raw)
2013
The ancient capital Ẓafār lies 130 km south-south-east of Ṣanʿāʾ in the Yemeni southern Highlands at 2800 m altitude. Rich soil and during the greater and lesser monsoons generous rain bless her. Until recently the major historical role and importance of Ẓafār, capital of the Himyarite tribal confederacy (sovereignty 110 BCE – 525 CE), were largely ignored. But 1998 – 2010 in nine field campaigns she revealed herself to be a rewarding source which heralds the arrival of Islam. In 2002 we re-organised the Ẓafār Site Museum and installed an English – Arabic exhibition. We catalogued its 220 Ḥimyarite period inscriptions and 900 reliefs. These date from the 3rd – early 6th centuries CE. 523 – 525 Christians and Jews took up arms against each other. Traditionally the milieu and time of Ḥimyar (and Ẓafār) are believed to be decadent. But more careful examination reveals them to be a direct ancestor of Islam. To be fair, the usual characterisation of ‘decadence’ for the Ḥimyarite period is a many-facetted term which requires detailed value-neutral definition. Diverse sources form the present volume: Survey of Ẓafār and the surrounding areas, cataloguing of excavated finds, excavations especially of tombs (cemetery zc001) and of the Stone Building – our major excavation. As preserved, the c. 30 m x 30 m Stone Building juts into the south-western slope of the Ḥuṣn Raydān. After abandonment, debris from the western slope filled it up. There was no sudden destruction. A precinct enclosure surrounds the Ḥuṣn Raydān complex. A 4.5 km long wall and possibly a trench girth the city. We can trace the former. Numerous tombs and graves form cemeteries and line city entrances. Different sizes and types occur, the largest range up to 12 m in length. 13% of the pottery is imported. Most numerous are late Roman period amphorae from ʿAqaba. Local wares have untreated surfaces and are mostly wheel-turned. Rare post-abandonment Celadon sherds came to light. For chronological reasons the pottery from the Ǧabal al-ʿAwd resembles more that from al-Aḍlaʿ than from Ẓafār. The vast majority of 1066 sculpture pieces and lots retrieved are in relief. The latest are 1.70 m high standing figures of men of Aksumite-Byzantine type which wear a crown. They provide dating evidence for the final major additions to the Stone Building. Pre-Islamic Arabia developed, or at least borrowed royal iconography. Both imports and foreign influences appear in the art at Ẓafār. A ring engraved with a Torah shrine forms the earliest evidence for the arrival of Jewish believers in the area. Imported glass of Roman type is common at Ẓafār. The site was extensively scavenged during and after its abandonment. Thus coins and metallic small finds are rare. A Roman period inscription written in Greek appears to date not earlier than the 2nd century CE. Three new Sabaic texts enable the re-dating of the regency of Šuraḥbiʾil Yakkaf to 465 – 474 CE. Some 16.000 charred plant remains were recovered. The most important cereals are Hordeum (hulled barley) and less so Avena (oats). The Stone Building but also cemetery zc01 yielded some 6000 animal bone fragments. 90% are cattle. A camel hybrid occurred. No early habitation came to light at Ẓafār. The end of the occupation is far more secure by virtue of sculpture, inscriptions, pottery and historical reconstruction. The much-altered Stone Building fell out of use and the entire site declined to a walled medieval squatter settlement. In 2010 we roofed the Stone Building, electrified the site and provided the watchmen’s which we built with beds and blankets. The city’s demise jibes both with the pandemic of 541–543 CE and the general insurrection quelled by Abraha in 548. A series of megadroughts confronted the Ḥimyar, the worst of which took place in and around 530.
Related papers
Zafar, Capital of Himyar, Fifth Preliminary Report, February–March 2005
2008
In February-March 2005, the joint University of Heidelberg-Yemen team conducted a season of mapping Zafār. Major tasks included the compilation of place-names of the different fields in the area. In this way, we obtain an instrument with which to identify fossil pre-Arabic place-names. Zafār is not the largest archaeological site in the Yemen, but may well be the second largest one after Mārib. The rectification of a Quickbird image documents in concrete fashion the soil erosion and other environmental changes in and around the ancient city. Vulture reliefs from the surrounding area show a new style which appears to date to the 6th century, to judge from related images in Europe. Our recording is just keeping abreast of destruction mostly from building operations.
The powerful Himyarite Confederation (110 BCE to 525–630 CE), with its capital Zafār was once the mightiest kingdom in Arabia and its rise was based on highly developed irrigation technology. In the centuries after its fall, the city has suffered considerable damage. In order better to understand the culture and history of the Дimyarites, annual research projects have taken place in Zafār since 1998. The University of Heidelberg Expedition to Zafār is made possible by a grant from the German Research Society (DFG).
2007
In 1998, the Heidelberg University Expedition to Zafar, in the Yemenite Highlands, initiated a programme of excavation, mapping and training. Zafar was the capital of the tribal confederation known to the outside world as Himyar, which for some 250 years dominated the entire Arabian Peninsula politically and militarily. The mapping showed the ancient walled city to be worthy of its name with a core area comprising some 1000 x 1200 m. The 2000 season concentrated on the excavation of a late Himyarite cemetery on a mountain slope called al-Asima/Salm. During the 2002 season, a foundation at the southern foot of the famous Husn Raydan was excavated, the site museum was newly installed and all of the inscriptions were photographed. In 2003, we photographed the entire collection of sculptures and began excavation on the south-western flank of the Husn Raydan in what appears to be magazines. Finally, in 2004 excavation was taken up in an area 10 m to the south, where a corner of a large l...
Zafar, Capital of Himyar, Ibb Province, Yemen
In 1998, the Heidelberg University Expedition to Zafar, in the Yemenite Highlands, initiated a programme of excavation, mapping and training. Zafar was the capital of the tribal confederation known to the outside world as Himyar, which for some 250 years dominated the entire Arabian Peninsula politically and militarily. The mapping showed the ancient walled city to be worthy of its name with a core area comprising some 1000 x 1200 m. The 2000 season concentrated on the excavation of a late Himyarite cemetery on a mountain slope called al-Asima/Salm. During the 2002 season, a foundation at the southern foot of the famous Husn Raydan was excavated, the site museum was newly installed and all of the inscriptions were photographed. In 2003, we photographed the entire collection of sculptures and began excavation on the south-western flank of the Husn Raydan in what appears to be magazines. Finally, in 2004 excavation was taken up in an area 10 m to the south, where a corner of a large l...
In R. Foote, M. Guagnin, I. Périssé & S. Karacic (eds), Revealing Cultural Landscapes in North‑West Arabia (Supplement to Volume 51 of the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies), Oxford: Archaeopress, 2022
The excavations carried out since 2008 in Ḥegrā by the Saudi-French Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ Archaeological Project shed light on the long occupation of this site, which started several centuries before it was settled by the Nabataeans in the course of the second half of the first century BC. The chronological sequence given by carbon-dated stratigraphy dates back to the mid-first millennium BC. In addition, numismatic and pottery data suggest a dense occupation of the site during the whole second half of this millennium. Local silver and bronze coins imitating Attic owls can now be firmly identified as Lihyanite issues. Similarly, the painted and unpainted pottery from the early contexts is comparable to those from Lihyanite sites of the al-ʿUlā region. These results provide strong evidence that Ḥegrā belonged to the Lihyanite territory between the early fourth century and the late first century BC. Finally, the settlement of the Nabataeans in Ḥegrā, linked to their long-term regular visits to the region through their caravan trade activities, could be explained by the nature of the site that may have been a ‘commercial suburb’ of Dadan, located only 15 km to the south.
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