Baraqish / Yathill

Barāqish

Yemen · Al-Jawf

Ancient cityUnknown
Approximate period1,200 BCE — 1,800 CEPre-Islamic South Arabia and medieval–early modern use See on the map ↓

In brief

Ancient Yathill was one of the important cities of the Kingdom of Ma'in and a stop on the incense trade route. Italian excavations uncovered well-preserved columned temples and inscribed religious furnishings in the southern part of the city.

What was found?

  • 1Temple of Nakrah

    This is a columned temple identified through inscriptions as dedicated to Nakrah, the city's patron deity. Its preserved architecture allows study of the layout of Minaean sacred buildings.

  • 2Temple of Athtar dhu-Qabd

    This is a two-story sacred building north of the Temple of Nakrah. Together with the other temples, it forms a large sanctuary in the south of the city.

  • 3Inscribed offering tables

    Large offering tables bearing inscriptions were found in the temple. These are tangible furnishings used for votive practices in the place of worship.

  • 4Ibex reliefs

    Crouching ibexes are depicted on the fronts of the offering tables. The reliefs document animal imagery in the temple's decoration.

  • 5Inscribed city walls

    Numerous inscriptions carved into the stone blocks of the towered walls have survived. Alongside the defensive architecture, they provide sources for investigating the city's written history.

What does it point to?

Barakış shows that monumental worship and urban defense developed together in an important Minaean city on the incense caravan route. The inscriptions make it possible to identify the deities to whom the temples were dedicated and to connect the city's history with material remains.

What did it teach us?

  1. It established through inscriptions that the temples were dedicated to Nakrah and Athtar dhu-Qabd.
  2. It uncovered a large sanctuary combining several temples.
  3. It made it possible to distinguish successive phases of construction and renovation in the temples.
  4. It documented medieval and later settlements at the site following the ancient city.

Record

Culture
Minaean and later Zaydi communities
First modern dig
1989
Team / historical
Yemen İtalyan Arkeoloji Misyonu; Sabina Antonini de Maigret
Coordinates
16.0183°, 44.8044°

Sources

  1. monumentaorientalia.org
  2. whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu

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