153

A RECENTLY-DISCOVERED NABATAEAN SANCTUARY, POSSIBLY DEVOTED TO THE

SUN-GOD

LALA NEHME CNRS, UMR 8167 ORIENT & MDITERRANE This article presents, in provisional form, a recently discovered and excavated Nabataean sanctuary devoted to the cult of the sun-god in Madin Slih, ancient Hegra.

DESCRIPTION I recently had the pleasure of reading John Healey's Variorum Collected Studies, published in 2011, and discovered in it an article Dushara as sun-god, which he had initially written for Sergio Noja Nosedas Fest-schrift. After Sergios untimely death, the Festschrift was abandoned and the article was therefore never published. As a small tribute to Johns scholarly contribution to Nabataean studies, I would like to pre-sent, at least in provisional form, a recently discovered and excavated Nabataean sanctuary which I believe was devoted to the cult of the sun-god.

This sanctuary was discovered in Madin Slih, ancient Hegra in north-west Arabia. It lies in the so-called residential area, far from the place where most of the monuments with a religious character have

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been recorded to date, i.e. the Jabal Ithlib, north-east of the site.1 The residential area lies in a flat and large plain in the approximate centre of Hegra, surrounded by a mudbrick rampart (Nehme Plate 1: A). There are only a few rocky outcrops in this area: two of them, in the south, named Hill A and Hill B, stand exactly at the city limits. Another, local-ly named Marbat al-Hisn, which has the form of a mushroom, lies just beneath its northern limit. The last two, in the northern half of the city, were numbered IGN 131 and IGN 132 by the Institut Gographique Na-tional in 19781979. They are the only outcrops around which religious monuments have been carved.

The conspicuous character of IGN 132 (Nehme Plate 1: B) and the presence, at its foot, of several rock-cut features, made it a good candi-date for excavation. Two seasons, for which a preliminary report has been submitted to Atlal, have been undertaken so far, in 2010 and 2011.2 The outcrop numbered IGN 132 is slightly longer than it is wide (about 35 x 20 m) and is oriented north-south. Its top is at about 794 m above sea level and it dominates the surrounding plain. It is, for exam-ple, 16 m higher than Area 2 of our excavations, which is located 200 m to the north-west (see Nehme Plate 1: A). Its southern side is steeper than its northern side. Immediately to the north the land forms a terrace where, in places, the bedrock reaches the surface. The bedrock falls away in a gentle slope from south to north (3 m over more than 15 m distance). On the south-western side of the hill, nine excavation squares were opened in 2003 by D. al-Talhi.3 The Latin inscription dat-ed to between 175 and 177 CE, which mentions the restoration of the towns rampart (if the reading vallum in line 3 is correct), was found in a baulk between two squares of this trench.4

Several archaeological structures were visible around the bottom part of the outcrop before excavation (see Nehme Plate 1: B),5 including one rock-cut room (IGN 132a), the ceiling of which has partly col-

1 On the Jabal Ithlib and its monuments, see most recently Nehm et alii

2006: 9196 and Nehm 2004: 656667. For location, see Nehme Plate 3; B. 2 2010: Charloux et alii (in press) and 2011: Benech et alii (in press). 3 On the results of these excavations, see al-Talhi and al-Daire 2005: 206

207. 4 Ibidem. 5 On IGN 132, see Nehm et alii 2006: 91.

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lapsed, and three niches with betyls (IGN 132b-d). The top of the out-crop is a platform sloping up from north to south. A groove cut into the rock, c. 50 cm wide, runs around it. The excavation began with the clearance of the rock-cut room IGN 132a, which turned out to be very disappointing. The fill did not contain any diagnostic sherds (the ware seems to belong to Byzantine or late Byzantine ware types)6 and the room itself, in which we expected to find the benches of a triclinium, was empty.

The excavation continued on the terraces north of the outcrop, where two walls, interpreted as temenos walls, came to light, one exter-nal and one internal, with a very clearly identified door in the latter (Nehme Plate 2). We then moved to the west side of the outcrop where six stone basins, two of which were visible before excavation and three of which were complete, were cleared. It is not certain yet whether and how they are associated to the well, dug partly in the rock and partly in the earth sediment, which was excavated a few meters further south, immediately at the foot of the crack which separates the outcrop into two parts. It should be noted that this well, numbered 132, was in-stalled in the most inadequate place, as shown by the fact that it lies beyond the diagonal line, running north-east south-west, which marks the limit of the area where Nabataean wells have been dug (Nehme Plate 3: A). Indeed, it is built in a rather high position: the highest spot of the wall surrounding the well is at the altitude of 785 m whereas, by comparison, the altitude of the top of the so-called Br Nabat, well no. 9, is at 780.65 m. Considering that the water table at Br Nabat was at 761 m in 2005, water should be expected at 24 m in well no. 132. Of course, the water table in antiquity was much higher than it is now (probably at 8 or 9 m), but it was nevertheless several meters further down in this well than in most of the other wells (by compari-son, the summit of well no. 12 is at 778.20 m, well no. 27 at 775.95 m and well no. 42 at 774.44 m).7 It is therefore necessary to explain why a well was installed in this place, and one may suggest the following two reasons: (1) because of the sanctuary built on top of the outcrop (see below), there was certainly a need for water in this particular

6 All the pottery from the Madin Slih excavations were read by C. Durand and Y. Gerber.

7 See the section of these wells in Courbon 2008: fig. 16, 17, 18, 21.

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place; (2) the very specific position of the well at the foot of the crack probably allowed it to be supplied directly with rain water, thus mak-ing it both a well and a cistern.8 If there had been no sanctuary above, it would be difficult to explain why the Nabataeans chose this location, and if it was not for the crack, there would be no reason to dig it at this relatively high altitude. There are domestic quarters around IGN 132 (as shown, in particular, by the 2003 excavations west of IGN 132), but if the Nabataeans had needed a well to supply them with water, there were plenty of other, more appropriate, locations in which to dig.

The excavation of the installation on top of the outcrop began in 2010 but most of the work was done during the 2011 season. The in-stallation is composed of an open-air enclosure and a paved platform (Nehme Plate 2: A). The enclosure is defined by a (probably) low wall made of a single row of sandstone blocks carefully laid in a trench dug in the bedrock, c. 50 cm wide (Nehme Plate 3: B). The blocks are fixed in the trench with wedging stones and mortar. The best preserved parts of the wall are on the north side but traces of it are also visible on the other three sides. This provides relatively exact dimensions for the en-closure: 16 m north-south and 13.50 m east-west. The builders clearly made best use of the space available and gave the enclosure the maxi-mum possible size. This is particularly visible in the north-west corner, where the edge of the cliff is only half a meter away from the angle. It must have been rather difficult to build a wall so close to the cliff, but Nabataean builders and stone-cutters (particularly those who cut the monumental tombs) were accustomed to these situations. They also made good use of the bedrock, following the variations of its level and only carving it when necessary. Layers of mortar and wedging stones were systematically employed, in a very pragmatic manner.

The paved platform (Nehme Plate 3: C) was probably a square, the sides of which were c. 4.50 m.9 Seventeen slabs, made of white and soft sandstone, are preserved. They are very thin (3 to 4 cm thick) and therefore extremely fragile, disintegrating when one walks on them, forming 1 to 2 mm thick leaves which then crumble away. They are

8 As was Br Nabat, the only other well of this kind in Madin Slih. 9 It is difficult to determine its exact dimensions because its western and

northern parts are missing and the reconstruction is based on the principle of symmetry (the same space on each side of the columns).

A RECENTLY DISCOVERED NABATAEAN SANCTUARY 157

laid on a preparatory layer made of compact clayish earth mixed with small stones, the thickness of which varies according to the irregulari-ties of the bedrock. The slabs are carefully assembled and no mortar was used to join them to each other, except on the edges of the plat-form, where a fine grey mortar was used to fix together the slabs and the wedging stones which link them to the bedrock. Whenever it was possible, i.e. when the bedrock was at the right level (it slopes gently from west to east), the builders avoided putting slabs on the platform, as can be seen in its south-western angle, where the bedrock was simp-ly cut down to the level of the top of the slabs. Faint traces of grey mor-tar on the bedrock show, however, that the latter was probably coated in order to give it a better aspect. The form and size of the slabs varies considerably: the smallest two are 36.5 x 69 cm and 40.5 x 66 cm while the largest two are 88 x 66 cm and 1.30 x 53 cm.

Apart from the slabs and the wedging stones, the only feature in situ is a rectangular block of good-quality white sandstone, 95 x 30 cm and 14 cm high, fixed to the bedrock and to the slabs below it with a 3.5 cm thick layer of grey mortar mixed with small stones. Its upper surface bears no traces of tool marks but its front and right (west) faces bear traces left by a drill spindle. This block is not part of a possible wall surrounding the platform, because there is no space available to the right (west) of it. It is therefore better to assume that it was some sort of pedestal for an altar or other religious device.

At about 0.75 m from the edges of the paved platform, the nega-tive of four columns was observed. They are visible either because slabs were clearly cut in order to make them fit in (four slabs were cut), be-cause the bedrock was cut deeper to embed them or because there are still traces of the white mortar which was used to fix them firmly to the substrate. The south-western column is the best preserved. Its diameter is 55 cm, as is that of the south-eastern one. Not a single fragment of column drum was found, neither on top of the outcrop nor in the de-struction layers below (important destruction layers were identified in the area between the basins and the wells and in the well itself). This shows that the column drums were all taken away when the monument on top was dismantled, probably to be reused somewhere else. The four columns were probably part of some sort of canopy protecting the

158 LALA NEHME

paved platform from the sun and the rain. It brings to mind the central platform of the cella of several temples (Baalshamn and Sr in southern Syria,10 Khirbat Tannr in Jordan,11 etc) as well as that of the tower of Mashnaqa in Lebanon.12 The total absence of architectural blocks on and around the platform makes it difficult to reconstruct the monument which stood there: was it some sort of cella or a monumental altar?

It was initially thought that access to the summit of IGN 132 was given primarily through a ramp built parallel and against the north-west face of the outcrop, up to chamber IGN 132a (Nehme Plate 4: A; and see Plate 2). However, the excavation, in 2011, of the area in front of the chamber where a few stones had been exposed in 2010, showed that these blocks belong in fact to the bases of two pillars, 1.90 m dis-tant from each other, resting directly on the bedrock. Only two courses are preserved and the stones used to build them, carelessly assembled, are of friable white sandstone. The bedrock on which they are laid is pulverulant and wavelets shaped by erosion have formed on the sur-face. The feeling is that of a work undertaken in haste. Despite this, it is probable that these two pillars were part of the initial access to the top of IGN 132. Indeed, they are on the western side of the outcrop, the only side where an access could be installed, the other sides being too steep, and in front of what is left of the rock-cut staircase which origi-nally provided an easy climb to the top. Faint traces of this staircase are still visible above the entrance to the rock-cut chamber IGN 132a. Apart from the latter, the original aspect of the access cannot be recon-structed: the pillars are all that remains of a possible monumental gateway to the sanctuary.

As previously mentioned, the ceiling of IGN 132a has partly col-lapsed and we have every reason to believe that this happened early in the history of this area. Indeed, it is assumed that when the chamber was dug, part of the ceiling collapsed, also destroying access to the top. At this time, the sanctuary was in use and a new access, a roughly-built ramp, had to be installed quickly, using spall from the digging of the chamber and meeting up with what was left of the rock-cut staircase. Because the ramp clearly makes use of the stone fragments obtained by

10 Dentzer-Feydy 2010: 226 and fig. 1, 3. 11 McKenzie 2002: fig. 4, 21, 28. 12 See Aliquot 2009, fig. 132, 134 p. 252.

A RECENTLY DISCOVERED NABATAEAN SANCTUARY 159

the quarry workers, medium ones in the lower part and small ones in the upper part, the digging of the chamber and the building of the ramp are considered to be almost contemporary.

INTERPRETATION Pottery found on top of the outcrop, read by Y. Gerber in 2012, is most-ly dated to the interval between the mid-1st century BCE and the mid-1st century CE. This suggests that at the turn of the era, a high place was built and used on top of IGN 132, in the northern part of the residential area of ancient Hegra. It was protected by temenos walls and at least one entrance to the complex was opened on the northern side perhaps not in the middle of the open-air courtyard thus delineated.13 Access to the high place was originally given through a rock-cut staircase which was destroyed when the ceiling of the rock-cut chamber IGN 132a collapsed (see above).

Roughly in the middle of the rectangular enclosure, a paved plat-form was protected by a canopy, visible only through the traces of the imprints of the four columns which carried it. Apart from the slabs of the pavement, the only element in situ is a rectangular ashlar, fixed to the slabs with mortar on the southern edge of the platform. The whole installation is orientated almost exactly north-south, which is probably not a coincidence.14 As this is the best orientation to follow the course of the sun, particularly in winter, it is possible that this high place was devoted to the cult of the sun-god. Indeed, the whole installation is reminiscent of Strabos text describing the religious customs of the Nabataeans (Geography, XVI.4.26): , p , they worship the sun, building an altar on the top of the house, and pouring libations on it daily and burning frankincense. J. Healey15 has recently pointed to the fact that Dshar, in a Greek

13 There was possibly another entrance, on the west, but the temenos walls

have completely disappeared on this side. 14 There is a very small difference of 12 to the east due to the orientation of

the platform. 15 Healey 2011.

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inscription from Suwayd in southern Syria,16 is called un-conquered, and that this epithet is characteristic of the sun deity (Sol invictus). Therefore, it may be that Dshar as sun-god was worshipped in the residential area of Hegra.

The discovery of a stone incense burner (Nehme Plate 5: B) and a bronze casket which may have been used for storing incense (Nehme Plate 4: E) are arguments in favour of this interpretation, despite the fact that these objects were not found directly associated with the plat-form (see the Appendix). A portable betyl, an altar, an offering table or any other object needed for the worship rituals may also have been installed on or near the rectangular ashlar found in situ on the platform. Finally, the three niches with betyls which are carved on the western and southern faces of IGN 132 are most probably linked to the presence of the high place on top, although the relative chronology between these installations is impossible to determine.

It is not completely certain that there was a monumental building on top of IGN 132. The hypothesis of the existence of such a structure is valid only if one interprets the blocks found in the destruction layers at the foot of the eastern site of the outcrop as the result of the destruction of this building. Moreover, one has then to assume that the building, whatever its form, was dismantled deliberately, possibly with the view of reusing the blocks, most of which are of very good quality. If this was not the case, one would have to explain why the blocks fell only on one side of IGN 132. It should also be emphasised that this deliberate destruction appears to have been done in an organised way: the blocks were sorted (bad ones were thrown in the well, good ones north of the well) and the destruction did not greatly affect the area where the stone basins were installed. It is certain, however, that as soon as the building was destroyed, the well was no longer in use, unless the blocks found in it came from somewhere else, i.e. from the lining of the well itself. The estimated number of blocks extracted from the well is c. fifty units, to which should be added the small blocks thrown away in the excavation dump. If one interprets the last preserved course of the lin-ing of the well (at the top) as the original upper course, twenty-nine blocks are missing in the upper three courses of the lining.17 There are

16 Waddington 1968: no. 2312. 17 Considering that each course contains 12 or 13 blocks and that two, three,

A RECENTLY DISCOVERED NABATAEAN SANCTUARY 161

thus more blocks in the well than blocks needed to fill the gaps in its lining.

In theory, there is no need to reconstruct a building on top of IGN 132 and one must also take into account the difficulties involved in dragging up the blocks, which came from a distant quarry.18 In addi-tion, the platform was self-sufficient and had the required installations for a place of worship: an open-air platform, part of which was protect-ed by some sort of canopy supported by four columns, and an altar or other furniture used during the ceremonies on the southern edge. Nev-ertheless, the hypothesis of an upper building is the only one explaining the presence of the blocks in the destruction layers excavated in 2010 and 2011, and it is safe to assume that there was indeed a monumental structure there, of which very little is left.

One parallel to our installation may be found in Petra. It is around and on top of an outcrop standing on a large terrace in the Jabal al-Maysrah ridge, bearing number 520 in G. Dalmans catalogue19 (Neh-me Plate 4: B, C). The bottom part of the outcrop is occupied by several rock-cut chambers (Dalman no. 519). Two partly-destroyed staircases lead to the top, one in the north and one in the south. The latter, which has several flights, is very well cut. On the top of the outcrop, several installations were recorded: a bench, a block interpreted as an altar, basins, cup holes, a possible stibadium, etc. The surface is covered with earth and it would be worthwhile clearing it, as it is probable that oth-er features would appear.

The relative chronology between the installations at the top and those at the bottom is difficult to determine because there is no strati-graphic link between them, but if the hypothesis is correct that the top building was dismantled and that the blocks were thrown down and sorted out, it follows that the well is earlier than the destruction of the building. It is also probable that the presence of the well is closely linked to that of the sanctuary and that both were installed approxi-

and five blocks are preserved in the three upper courses (thus 3 x 13 = 39, minus 10 = 29).

18 The closest quarries which offer good quality white sandstone, equivalent to the quality of the blocks found in the destruction layers, are on the slopes of the Jabal Ithlib.

19 Dalman 1908: 286, fig. 231 (plan of the top).

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mately at the same time. As for the relationship between the well and the basins to the north, it is difficult to be more precise at the moment. At least some of the basins were filled with water by hand (basins no. 13 may have received rainwater directly from the top, although this is not certain) and if such was the case, the nearby well would have been a very good source of water. This would mean, in turn, that the well and the basins are more or less contemporary and that the whole complex was built at the turn of the era. This monument, with its walls built in white sandstone, was probably one of the most conspicuous elements in the landscape of ancient Hegra, competing with the monu-mental rock-cut tombs.

APPENDIX: THE FINDS Three objects, found during the excavations, are worth mentioning.

60704_M01: bronze statuette (Nehme Plate 4: D) A small bronze figurine representing a bird of prey (see the characteris-tic eyebrows) in imperial posture, probably an eagle, with hooked beak, projecting chest and opened wings (not spread wings). The left leg thrusts out and the head is slightly turned to the right. The wings are symmetrical and join each other at the back to form the tail, which in turn joins the stand. This small object, found on top of IGN 132, was probably a votive offering.

60681_M01: bronze casket This bronze casket (Nehme Plate 4: E) had been fitted into the small space left between wall 60666 (see fig. 3), basin no. 1 and a stone laid flat. It was certainly put there on purpose, possibly to hide it, if not just to put it away in the right place. It was laid flat, resting on its feet. It is a casket with six compartments radiating out from a central circular space (diameter 17.5, height 12.3 cm). The thickness of the walls is 0.6 cm for the inside and 0.7 cm for the outside wall. Three compart-ments show on their bottom a black deposit, probably ash, while the others still contain earth. The walls between the compartments were made of plaster, except for their upper part, which was made of a me-

A RECENTLY DISCOVERED NABATAEAN SANCTUARY 163

tallic stem, 0.8 to 1.4 cm high and 0.6 cm wide (however, in one case at least, the plaster also covers the stem). It is difficult to say whether the plaster also covered the bottom of the compartments. In some of them the metal appears, and in others it is covered with earth.20

The casket rests on three feet (5.3 cm high) which were originally decorated with human heads, only one of which is relatively well pre-served (see detail on Nehme Plate 4: E). When looking at the casket from above, the feet are invisible. The head is probably male and is framed with a crenellated pattern reminiscent of the crowsteps of the Nabataean tomb faades. The hair appears like a flat band which comes down to the level of the ears. The pupil of the left eye is marked by a circle in relief. The outline of the mouth is not very clear and it is not certain whether both lips are represented. The bust is protruding for-ward but nothing is visible on it.

The closest parallels to this casket are to be found in three regions of Yemen (Nehme Plate 5: A):

Jawf (illegal excavations, photograph M. Arbach in 2004): Al Aql and Antonini 2007, no. II.C.a.6, p. 200: casket with two compartments, ring-shaped base, lid decorated with fe-line head. Date: 1st-3rd c. CE? Private collection.

Awsn (provenance necropolis and temple?): Al Aql and Antonini 2007, no. II.C.a.14:

- no. II.C.a.1: casket with four compartments, three lion paw shaped feet, lid. Diam. 16 cm; h. 7.7 cm. Date: 1st-3rd c. CE? Aden National Museum 2627;

- no. II.C.a.2: casket with four compartments, ring-shaped base, lid. Diam. 13.9 cm; h. 6.7 cm. Aden National Museum 1446;

- no. II.C.a.3: casket with two compartments, three bull paw shaped feet, lid. Diam. 8.5 cm; h. 5 cm. Aden National Mu-seum 28;

20 The compartments have not been cleaned because we decided it was pref-

erable to leave this to a professional restorer.

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- no. II.C.a.4: casket with one compartment, three bull paw shaped feet, lid. Diam. 8.5 cm; h. 5 cm. Aden National Mu-seum 543.

north of San, site of al-Huqqa (Rathjens and von Wissmann 1932: 86, fig. 44): incense-burner made of a flared tripod on three lion-headed feet (or bull-hoofed shaped feet? See Avanzini 2008: 394). Diam. 11.8 cm; h. 8.7 cm.

Zafr, Khor Rori (Avanzini 2008: 394, 396, pl. 33 p. 446, no. 868): incense-burner made of a hammered tripod on three lions paw shaped feet soldered to the bowl. Three tri-angular openings in the base, clogged by ash, were used for ventilation. It contained remains of a burnt substance. It may have had a perforated lid. Diam. 12 cm; h. 8 cm. According to A. Avanzini, bronze incense-burners are quite rare in South Arabia and less than a dozen are preserved.

There are therefore, it seems, two categories of objects which have the same form as our object: compartmented caskets (with one to four compartments) and incense-burners. The fact that 60681_M01 has six compartments and no holes for ventilation in its base makes it likely that it was used as a casket rather than as an incense-burner, despite the traces of burnt material in some of the compartments (possibly the result of a reuse). It may, however, have been used to store incense or cosmetics. The marks visible on the top may be the traces of the solder-ing of a lid but this is not certain. Other parallels to these caskets, ac-cording to Al Aql and Antonini, are to be found in Egypt and in Neo-Babylonia but mainly in Hellenized Asia: Bactria (A Khanoum for ex-ample).21 It is the first object of this kind found in the Nabataean realm and, in this respect, it deserves attention and care.

60653_S01: stone incense-burner (Nehme Plate 5: B) It was found in the destruction at the bottom of the outcrop, on the east side. Its preserved height is 28 cm and its maximum width is 23 cm. Its original thickness was probably 18 to 20 cm, which makes it approxi-

21 References in Al Aql and Antonini 2007: 68.

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mately square in section. Three sides (the fourth is broken) are decorat-ed with horns and there is a small cavity on the top.

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Nehme Plate 1: A (top): General aerial view of the residential area of Madin Slih with the features mentioned in the text; B (bottom): Gen-eral view of IGN 132 from the west, before excavation

267

Nehme Plate 2: Kite view of IGN 132 at the end of the 2011 excavation season

268 ROBERT WENNING

Nehme Plate 3: A (top): Distribution of the wells in Madin Slih and location of the new well, no. 132; B (bottom left): A section of the low wall which surrounds the open-air enclosure on top of IGN 132; C (bot-tom right): Kite-view of the paved platform. The negative of the columns is marked by a c

269

Nehme Plate 4: A (top): The rock-cut chamber IGN 132a and the ramp built with splinters resulting from the digging of the chamber; B (center left): General view of Dalman no. 520 from the south; C (center right): The southern staircase leading up to the top of Dalman no. 520, from the west; D (bottom left): Bronze figurine representing an eagle, 60704_M01; E (bottom right): Bronze casket 60681_M01, with detail of one of the feet

270

Nehme Plate 5: A (top): Yemeni parallels to bronze casket 60681_M01; B (bottom): Stone incense-burner 60653_S01, face