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The ancient kingdom of Saba ruled over the
lands of southern Arabia, centered in modern
day Yemen. Saba is perhaps better known as
Sheba, the Hebrew word for the kingdom, whose
famous Queen was recounted as having visited
Solomon in the pages of the Old Testament.
Biblical accounts speak of the wealth of this
ancient civilization of traders and merchants, and
modern archaeological excavations confirm these
reports. Ruins of fortresses and walled towns are
evident and remnants of their extensive
irrigation system that turned the desert into a
paradise still cover the land. Although gold and
silver deposits were present, the chief source of
their vast wealth was derived from their veritable
monopoly of two of the most coveted materials
in ancient times: frankincense and myrrh,
resinous gums obtained from certain trees that
only grow in Southern Arabia and were literally
worth their weight in gold. There was not a
temple or wealthy house in the ancient world,
from Babylon to Rome, where one would not
smell the fragrant scents of these incenses. In
addition, a trade route that connected India to
Egypt that passed through their capital of Marib
was another major source of wealth. In the 1st
Century A.D., the Ptolemaic Greeks discovered a
sea route from India directly to the port of
Alexandria, eliminating Saba from her lucrative
trade and ushering in the decline of Sabean
prosperity.
This magnificent stone funerary plaque is a
stunning example of the sophistication of Sabean
art. The following is a transcription of the
analysis kindly provided by Professor Kitchen
(University of Liverpool).
‘This ‘headpiece’ was originally inserted into a
matching rectangular recess, cut into a tall stela
(like a narrow quadrangular pillar), to form a
tombstone plus ‘formal’ portrait. For intact
examples, cf. St. John Simpson (ed.), ‘Queen of
Sheba, Treasures from Ancient Yemen,’ (London,
British Museum, 2002), p. 198, nos. 277-278.
Facial tombstone in high relief. Schematic face
with curving, dominating eyebrows, natural eye-
hollows and having semi-circular ears (with
lobes merging into the side of the face). Again,
below, a 5-letter name, T w b – ‘l, Thawb-il, a
very well known Old South Arabian name (cf. G.L.
Harding, ‘Index & Concordance of Pre-Islamic
Old-South-Arabian Names…’, (Toronto, 1971),
p. 149), especially in Saba and Qataban. These
letter forms would probably suit about the 3rd
century BC. This piece is comparable with the
piece TC.2259 from the Timna cemetery in
Qataban, cf. R. L. Cleveland, ‘An Ancient South-
Arabian Necropolis…Timna Cemetary,’
(Baltimore, 1965), pl. 23. This example, however,
(and others from Timna), have the eyebrows
incised, not in raised relief as in this case.’
- (SF.366)
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