Epigraphic Survey Research Articles

From Nabataeo-Arabic to Palaeo-Arabic: Two new pre-Islamic graffiti from the Jordanian Ḥarrah

ABSTRACT The main objective of this study is to shed light on two recently discovered graffiti, which were identified in the context of the Badia Epigraphic Survey (BES) project. These graffiti are Nabataeo-Arabic and Palaeo-Arabic inscriptions. The research presents an analysis of these inscriptions, which are rarely found in the Jordanian Ḥarrah.

Documenting the ḥarra’s epigraphic heritage: new Palmyrene inscriptions from the Jordanian ḥarra

This paper aims to shed light on the Palmyrene inscriptions discovered during the Badia Epigraphic Survey (BES) from 2015 to 2023, through a comparative and linguistic approach. Additionally, we attempt to understand the reasons for the presence of these inscriptions in the Jordanian Badia, which appears to be related to trade. This is the first comprehensive study of the entire corpus of Palmyrene inscriptions known so far from the Jordanian ḥarra.

Ancient and modern inscriptions in the basalt desert: News from the 2023 season of the Badia Epigraphic Survey in north‐east Jordan

AbstractThe Badia Epigraphic Survey (BES) Project was launched in 2015 by Ali Al‐Manaser and Michael C. A. Macdonald and, with two gaps, has been conducting annual surveys in the ḥarra of north‐eastern Jordan ever since. The 2023 survey, like that of 2018, set out to rediscover the cairns at the border between the ḥarra and the ḥamād at which, in the late 1950s, Professor Fred V. Winnett and Gerald Lankester Harding (WH) discovered over 4000 inscriptions. The purpose was to identify the WH cairns by the inscriptions on them, to give them exact locations using Global Positioning System and to photograph all the inscriptions, most of which WH had had to record in hand copies. In the process, numerous inscriptions at other cairns were also recorded, as well as large numbers of modern Arabic inscriptions carved in the 65 years since the WH expedition. This article describes some of the finds made, gives the exact locations of the WH cairns rediscovered and discusses some of the interesting ancient and modern inscriptions and drawings which were found.

The Ḥarrah’s epigraphic heritage: new safaitic inscriptions from the Black Desert in north-eastern Jordan and a Greek inscription referring to Zeus Kyrios

This paper publishes six new inscriptions discovered at three different sites within the Ḥarrah desert in north-eastern Jordan during the 2017 and 2018 seasons of the BES (Badia Epigraphic Survey). The first text is a five-line Greek inscription referring to the god Zeus Kyrios ‘Zeus the Lord’ a form of Zeus whose cult was popular in the Ḥawrān and whose name is recognized as masking that of Baalshamin. The text is authored by a person bearing the Arabic theophoric name of Amrosamsos (Mrʾs²ms¹), who describes himself as ‘the Goareian’, in reference to a district of ‘Arabia’ mentioned in Greek literary sources. The five Safaitic inscriptions are by nomadic tribesmen from the kin groups of the ʿwḏ and Qmr, some of whom are already known from other Safaitic inscriptions. These texts provide us with two new Safaitic verbs (ytm ‘to become an orphan’ and ndy ‘to invoke’), as well as with the first example of a member of the ʿwḏ tribe who refers to his service in a ms¹rt ‘military unit’.

The Harrah's epigraphic heritage: Arabic graffito from the Black Desert in north‐eastern Jordan referring to the Umayyad caliph Hishām b. ʿAbd al‐Malik

The aim of this article is to republish, reread and interpret an Arabic inscription from the Black Desert, north-eastern Jordan, to shed light on the practice of the dating system used before the Umayyad era, in which the dating of the inscription is linked to a specific event. The inscription was re-discovered by the present authors during the 2019 Badia Epigraphic Survey. It dates to the death of Hishām, who, as can be assumed, is the Umayyad caliph Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik (r. 724–743CE). In addition, this paper argues that according to the epigraphic records, when a caliph died, his title was removed.

Epigraphic survey on the mausoleum of Muḥammad Šarīf Ḫān at Ghazni (Afghanistan)

The mausoleum of Muḥammad Šarīf Ḫān is a rare surviving example of monumental family burial in Ghazni (Afghanistan). It hosts six marble tombs which date back to the end of the 10th/16th-beginning 11th/17th century and display a coherent epigraphic program. This paper gathers together and compares for the first time the Arabic epitaphs engraved on the tombs with the aim of better investigating the chronology and patronage of the monument. In the attempt to retrace the kinship among the deceased, it also cross‑examines epigraphic data and coeval historical sources and allows the identification of the eponym of the mausoleum as a high‑ranking dignitary among Mughal nobility.

Becoming Macedonian: Name Mapping and Ethnic Identity. The Case of Hephaistion

An epigraphical survey (with digital mapping component) of Greece and Magna Graecia reveals a pattern as to where Hephais-based names appear, up through the second century BCE. Spelled with an /eta/, these names are almost exclusively Attic-Ionian, while Haphēs-based names, spelled with an alpha, are Doric-Aeolian, and much fewer in number. There is virtually no overlap, except at the Panhellenic site of Delphi, and in a few colonies around the Black Sea.Furthermore, cult for the god Hephaistos –long recognized as a non-Greek borrowing– was popular primarily in Attic-Ionian and “Pelasgian” regions, precisely the same areas where we find Hephais-root names. The only area where Haphēs-based names appear in any quantity, Boeotia, also had an important cult related to the god. Otherwise, Hephaistos was not a terribly important deity in Doric-Aeolian populations.This epigraphic (and religious) record calls into question the assumed Macedonian ethnicity of the king’s best friend and alter-ego, Hephaistion. According to Tataki, Macedonian naming patterns followed distinctively non-Attic patterns, and cult for the god Hephaistos is absent in Macedonia (outside Samothrace). A recently published 4th century curse tablet from Pydna could, however, provide a clue as to why a Macedonian Companion had such a uniquely Attic-Ionian name.If Hephaistion’s ancestry was not, in fact, ethnically Macedonian, this may offer us an interesting insight into fluidity of Macedonian identity under the monarchy, and thereby, to ancient conceptualizations of ethnicity more broadly.

The Palmyrenes in a new Safaitic inscription

This paper deals with a new ancient North Arabian (Safaitic) inscription discovered by Rafe Harahsheh during his epigraphical survey in the Jordanian Ḥarrah. This new text contains a reference to a person who was protecting Palmyrenes and helping them in following the traces of something (probably a caravan). It contains the verb qyf and the tribal name mslq which have not been recorded in the published Safaitic inscriptions yet. The paper includes a discussion of al-qiyāfah “following the traces” among the Arabs, and the Palmyrene caravans as attested in the published inscriptions and the historical sources.

Between Petra and the Ḥarrah: the Nabataeans in new Safaitic inscriptions from the Jordanian Badia

This paper publishes three new Safaitic inscriptions collected during the 2015 mission of the Badia Epigraphic Survey project in northeastern Jordan. The significance of the finds is determined by ...

The sanctuary of Zeus Sarnendenos and the cult of Zeus in northeastern Phrygia

AbstractThis article presents the discovery of two fragmentary inscriptions which demonstrate the existence of an unknown naos of Zeus Sarnendenos in the northern part of the Choria Considiana, an extensive imperial estate in northeastern Phrygia. It also presents a votive offering to Zeus Sarnendenos and five new votive inscriptions to Zeus Akreinenos found in the village of Kozlu near İkizafer (ancient Akreina?), which was apparently part of another estate, belonging to the Roman senatorial family of the Plancii, situated to the east of the Choria Considiana. These inscriptions were found during the course of an epigraphic survey carried out in 2015 in Mihalıççık, a region located 90km to the northeast of Eskişehir in modern Turkey. The article consists of three main parts. It begins with an introduction to the historical and geographical backgrounds of the survey area; this is followed by a catalogue of inscriptions and, finally, an analysis of the sanctuary of Zeus Sarnendenos and the new votive offerings to Zeus Akreinenos, with reference to other evidence for the cult of Zeus in Phrygia and neighbouring regions. The inscriptions discovered in this area provide new information about the location and dispersal of the cult of Zeus in northeastern Phrygia.

Nomads of the Ḥarrah at Sea: A Safaitic inscription mentioning seafaring accompanied by a rock drawing of a boat from the Jordanian Bādiyah

ABSTRACTThis Safaitic text was found in el-Khderī region in the northeastern Jordanian Bādiyah (al-Ḥarrah) during an epigraphic survey conducted by the authors in the summer of 2017. This paper includes analysis of this text and a commentary on its contents. The stone where this text was inscribed contains the first ship/ boat drawing in the North Eastern Jordanian Bādiyah. The text is unique since it is the only known Safaitic text that talks about Bedouin navigation in the sea. The text includes words that appear for the first time in north Arabian inscriptions and these are sfnt, “ship”, ʿqd, “clung”, ʾbḥrn, “seas”.

New Inscriptions from Northeast Phrygia: The Cult of Hosios and Dikaios

The last three decades have witnessed increasing number of publications on the cult of Hosios kai Dikaios, Holy and Just , a cult predominantly found in Phrygia and Lydia worshipped together with Helios and Apollo. Due to various reasons, this cult, however, is less examined within archaeologi­cal context in which votive inscriptions emerged. The lack of archaeological context prevents us to evaluate the origins and organization of the cult under consideration. This paper presents the initial results of an epigraphic survey carried out since 2014 in northeast Phrygia. The first surveyed area today encompassing Mihalıççık County in Eskişehir province is located between the Sakarya (Sangarios) river to the north and the Porsuk (Tembris) river to the south. This paper focuses on two groups of new inscriptions found in Kayı and Otluk villages and their vicinities located in Mihalıç­çık County. It also includes one inscription (no. 5) which was incompletely published by Anderson. The discovery of four inscriptions offers some new information about the cult of Hosios and Dikaios, possible locations for the sanctuary/shrine of the cult and the provenance of the stone used for votive inscriptions in northeast Phrygia. The paper begins by laying out the historical geography of survey area, and then it presents the inscriptions and commentaries. It finally evaluates the evidence with reference to archaeological context including general historical conclusions.

An Urartian stele base from Beydamarı, Turkey

This article describes an Urartian stele base discovered in 2010 in eastern Turkey, during an epigraphical survey directed by Prof. Mirjo Salvini around Lake Van as part of the activities of CNR – ICEVO. During work in the region between 20 July and 9 August, 2010, several new archaeological sites and inscriptions were discovered, including the Urartian stele base discussed below. On 7 August 2007 an Urartian stele was discovered in the village of Bulutpınar, 25 km north-west of Patnos in Ağrı province, at the north foot of Bulutpınar Dağı (2024 m) (Figure 1). The basalt stele bears an inscription of Argišti II (713-? BC), one of the few inscriptions currently known for this Urartian king (Figure 2). The content of the inscription was published by Mirjo Salvini shortly afterwards, first in 2008 in the ‘Corpus of Urartian Text’ and later republished in 2010 with further remarks on the content of the text.

Close-Range Photogrammetric Tools for Epigraphic Surveys

In this article, we present a method to carry out a computerized epigraphic survey of historic stones and their engraved epigraphy. In fact, the preservation of archaeological objects has always been an issue of concern for the research community. On the one hand, the fragility of the objects limits their study. On the other hand, such objects are housed in museums, libraries, and institutions worldwide, locations that significantly limit their accessibility. Different survey methods have been carried out in these attempts to overcome the aforementioned limitations. Among them, the MicMac open source software was used in this work to survey and process the dense correlation of the hieroglyphics inscriptions engraved on archaeological stones. Relatively standard workflows have led to depth maps, which can be represented either as 3D point clouds or shaded relief images. This article shows the application of this method in two epigraphic survey case studies.

New ancient North Arabian inscriptions from Ġadīr Al-Aḥmar in Al-Ṣafāwī Region, northeastern Jordanian Badiya

This essay is an analytical study of sixteen new Ancient North Arabian inscriptions collected by the author during an epigraphical survey in 2010 in the area of Ġadīr Al-Aḥmar in Al-Ṣafāwī Region Northeast Jordan. On the grounds of the shape of script and the language, these inscriptions are classified as Safaitic. The script was known in the region to the south and southeast of Damascus (including north and northeast of Jordan) and in north and northwest Saudi Arabia. The goal of this analysis is to study the inscriptions, the semantics and morphology of the words and the proper nouns contained therein. Furthermore, the paper also identifies certain new vocabulary items, such as four personal names mentioned for the first time in the corpus of the Safaitic inscriptions.

New inscriptions from the Choria Considiana: Çalçak Roman necropolis

AbstractThis paper presents the initial results of an epigraphic survey of a Roman imperial estate, carried out in 2014 in northern Choria Considiana, today encompassing the area of Mihalıççık in Eskişehir, located between the Sakarya (Sangarios) river to the north and the Porsuk (Tembris) river to the south. The paper focuses on ten funerary inscriptions found in situ in the Çalçak Roman necropolis, 4km distant from Dinek village in Mihalıççık. All these inscriptions, found on the northern edge of the Choria Considiana, contain information relating to the social and economic status of the inhabitants of the estate, and also offer evidence about stone quarries and stonemasonry in the region. The paper begins with a presentation of the historical geography of the region, and then evaluates the new inscriptions against the existing evidence about the Choria Considiana with reference to the social and economic infrastructure of the area; important questions about the social, economic and cultural life of the region are posed. The article concludes with a catalogue of the inscriptions.

An Umayyad Era Mosque and Desert Waystation from Wadi Shireh, Southern Jordan

In the winter of 1988, while surveying Wadi Shireh in the Hisma (or Wadi Ramm) Desert of southern Jordan, the 'Aqaba-Ma'an Archaeological and Epigraphic Survey, directed by the late William Jobling of the University of Sydney, discovered a rare early Islamic open-air mosque in association with several exceptional early Islamic (Kufic) inscriptions, one of which gives a date of 109 H (727/728 CE). While a number of scholars have since commented on the site’s interesting inscriptions, there has been little discussion of the mosque within its broader archaeological context or immediate landscape setting. This article evaluates the mosque, together with several associated buildings discovered in Shireh, in relation to similar early Islamic open-air mosques and marginal desert settlements known from the southern Levant. Following a review and analysis of the site’s intriguing inscriptions, the authors then offer tentative conclusions regarding the site’s function as a desert waystation during the time of the Umayyads.

Sacrifice in the Safaitic inscriptions in the light of new evidence

The inscriptions published in this paper are from the collection of a co-project between the Free University Berlin and the Department of Antiquities under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Rainer Voigt and Prof. Dr. Fawwaz Al-Khraysheh and the field team Mohammad I. Ababneh and Rafe Harahsheh. During the epigraphic survey in 2007 in the region of Eastern Badiyah, we have recorded a collection of Safaitic inscriptions and drawings from the area of Tall ar-Rāhib.

Mummies are Called upon to Contribute to Fashion: Pre-Tutankhamun Egyptian Revivalism in Dress

Since 2007, Karin J. Bohleke has served as the director of the Fashion Archives and Museum of Shippensburg University. She holds a Ph.D. in French language and literature from Yale University; she also spent two seasons as an Egyptology reference librarian at the Epigraphic Survey of the University of Chicago in Luxor, Egypt. Her research interests focus on the nineteenth century and include fashion, early photography, the dissemination of French fashions in the United States, and women’s travel accounts of journeys to Egypt. Together with her husband, she actively teaches nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century social dance.The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 instantly inspired “Egyptomania” garments and accessories for women. However, “Tutmania” flappers had numerous precedents throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This paper correlates surges in Egyptomania styles with contemporary events in Egypt, archaeology, and Egyptology. Archaeological discoveries and international tours of artifacts sparked fresh waves of Egyptianizing fashions. Socio-political events, such as Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt, also stimulated fashions. Ancient Egypt inspired motifs, textiles, color, and even personality—in the form of Cleopatra—that have passed from one civilization to another, crossed the East–West divide, and traveled through millennia. This article analyzes attestations of Egyptomania fashions scattered throughout European and American fashion magazines before the 1920s to establish the trends beyond jewelry, painted portraits, and operatic costumes.

New Safaitic inscriptions from the Haroun Region in Northeast Jordan

This paper aims at studying a group of fourteen Safaitic inscriptions collected during an epigraphical survey in the Haroun Region in Western Bādiyah of Jordan. The research deals with the verbs and names semantically and syntactically, with an outlook to their parallels in other Semitic languages. This group of inscriptions contains some new personal names, terms and nouns hitherto unrecorded in Safaitic inscriptions: srr (No. 1), jrml (No. 2), fjl (No. 3), hdrs (No. 6), zblt (No. 7), kyl (No. 8), ′t (No. 9) and bdy (No. 9) are all new personal names in Safaitic; the term ′ns-h (No. 11) is attested for the first time in Safaitic in this form, and jfrt (No. 14) “young female camel” is a noun hitherto unrecorded elsewhere in Safaitic or other northwestern Semitic inscriptions.