Jabal al-Lawdh [ancient Kawran]

Isolated ceremonial place located on the Jabal al-Lawdh in the northern Jawf valley. It was frequented in the 8th–6th cent. BCE then in the 1st–3rd cent. CE, in both periods to commemorate the enthronement of kings, and federation pacts through rituals and banquets. Remains are found at the foot of the mountain called Zuwayra and close to its summit peaking at 2150 m.

Location

Jabal al-Lawdh is an isolated metamorphic mountain in the northern Jawf, located 30 km east-northeast of Maʿīn. Its peak is 2150 m high and juts out about 1000 m above the north-eastern border of the plain of Jawf. From this spot, the landscape of the edge of Rubʿ al-Khālī changes; the large calcareous plateau gives way to metamorphic rocky ridges.

The summit of Jabal al-Lawdh lies on top of an impressive mountain wall called Zuwayra, towering 1000 m high above the Jawf (Fig. 1). Part of the construction of a pre-Islamic sanctuary can be found at the foot of this mountain wall; the rest was built on the sloping ledge of Shiʿb Mushjiʿ, 200 m below the summit of Zuwayra. Place name At the beginning of the Christian era, Jabal al-Lawdh is named in Sabaic inscriptions as Mount Kawr (ʿrn Kwr –MAFRAY-al-Kaʿāb VII d) and the deities venerated on the site were called “gods of Kawrān” (ʾlʾlt Kwrn – e.g., MAFRAY-Mushjiʿ 2).

The higher sanctuary may have been called Taraḥ (Trḥ), as indicated in the local inscriptions (e.g., MAFRAY-al-Kaʿāb VIIa).

Exploration

Prior to the archaeological study of the site by the French Archaeological Mission in 1982, only part of the lower complex built at the foot of the mountain was known to scholars through mentions and photographs of scientific missions (e.g., Ryckmans 1959, Pirenne 1981). In 1982, a French team carried out an epigraphical and archaeological mission (Breton & Robin 1982). In 1986, the protohistoric structures were recorded by the French Jawf-Ḥaḍramawt mission (dir. S. Cleuziou).

Chronology of the site

In the absence of any archaeological excavations, the chronology of the site is only based on surface observations and epigraphical analysis.

There seem to be two main phases of occupation of the sacred site. The first one is dated to the 8th-6th cent. BCE when Sabaean sovereigns attended banqueting ceremonies to celebrate their enthronements (Ry 585 et Ry 586). Dedications are then usually addressed to ʿAthtar dhu-Dhiban, one is addressed to Almaqah (Ry 584). The texts dated from the reign of Karibʾīl Watār son of Dhamarʿalī mention a larger number of deities: ʿAthtar, Hawbas, Almaqah, Samiʿ, and Wadd. Fire sacrifices are also attested (MAFRAY-al-Kaʿab 14), as well as offerings of stelae to commemorate the Sabaean pact of federation (Ry 586).

The second phase of occupation is dated to the turn of the Christian era (first century CE), when the sanctuary was frequented by Ḥimyarite kings who had just taken over the ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ. The reactivation of rites formerly performed by Sabaean rulers in the sanctuary served as a political tool for Ḥimyar to legitimize its domination over Sabaʾ. ʿAthtar dhu-Dhiban, Almaqah and Samiʿ were still invoked (e.g., MAFRAY-al-Kaʿab 2 and 15, Ry 589), as well as Almaqah master of Shabʿan (Ry 588), Almaqah dhu-Haran (MAFRAY-al-Kaʿab 9 b) and Almaqah master of Yafʿan (MAFRAY-al-Kaʿab 10 a).

In the area of the lower banqueting buildings, the deities mentioned during this period are more varied. In addition to ʿAthtar, Samiʿ and Almaqah, they are ʿAmm ḏ-Mbrqm master of S¹lym; ʿAthtar dhu-Bayḥan, ʿAthtar ḏ-Ṭmm, Ḥgrm Qḥm, Taʾlab Riyam, and Wadd ḏ-ʿgbm. Most of these are deities of the tribes of Radmān-and-Khawlān, Muhaqraʾum, Bakīl, Raymān and Samʿī, all originating from the Yemeni highlands. The texts were probably written by companions of Dhamarʿalī Dhariḥ and Dhamarʿalī Watar Yuhanʿim, kings of Sabaʾ and dhu-Raydān, to celebrate their deities in the lower sanctuary while the king performed fire ritual in the upper sanctuary.

Archaeological remains

The archaeological remains are found at the foot of the mountain (Fig. 2) and near the top (Fig. 3). A 6-km-long paved processional road linked the two areas separated by an altitude of 1000 m.

The lower area (al-Kaʿab)

The buildings at the foot of the mountain consist of two large rectangular constructions with many stone benches inside, possibly indicating a banqueting area, a third building divided into several rooms, and other constructions. In addition to these buildings, a smaller unit divided into two rooms is located a few hundred metres east of the banqueting rooms at the start of the ascending paved road.

The higher area (Shiʿb Mushjiʿ)

Another building with benches is located close to the summit, as well as a temple a few hundred metres away. The building is composed of a 21 x 31 m irregular room surrounding and leaning on a mushroom-shaped rock. In both periods, this area was exclusively frequented by sovereigns. The area yielded ritual-related objects such as ibex statue fragments, broken elements of offering tables, incense burners and inscribed blocks (Breton & Robin 1982: 595).

Solène Marion de Procé

References and suggested reading

• Breton, J.-F. & Ch. Robin 1982. Le sanctuaire préislamique du Ǧabal al-Lawd (Nord-Yémen). CRAI 126: 590–629.
• Cleuziou, S. 1986. Rapport de mission en République Arabe du Yémen. Région de Marib, wadi al-Jawf (octobre 1986). Unpublished report.
• Pirenne, J. 1981. Au Nord-Yémen. Deux découvertes archéologiques prévues par des recherches antérieures. Raydān 4: 241–248.
• Ryckmans, G. 1959. Inscriptions sud-arabes, dix-septième série. Le Muséon 72: 159–176.

_{Alternate spellings: Lawdh, al-Lawḏ, Lawḏ, Jebel al-Lawdh, Kawrān, Kawran, Kwrn, Mushji’}